Blood of the Tiger
by MoonfangOfHowlPack
Summary: Moonpaw and Bloodpaw are Brambleclaw's and Squirrelflight's new kits. They are just starting on their apprenticeship when strange things start to happen... A prophecy comes forth...saying that only the moon can replace the Alpha Female of the howls...
1. Scarred for life

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 1**

**Scarred for life**

Moonpaw padded along side her mentor, Brightheart. The black she-cat was Brightheart's second apprentice, and wanted to be the best one she will ever have. They were on the hunting patrol with Graystripe and Bloodpaw. Brambleclaw had been with them earlier, but went back to camp to tell Firestar of a few new fox traps.

The wind picked up as a storm came closer. The scents of prey faded as all the animals ran to their burrows to hide from the coming rain.

Moonpaw sighed. "We should go back. All of the prey is hiding."

Bloodpaw looked at her with sad red eyes. They had become apprentices yesterday, and the tabby was excited about catching a mouse.

Graystripe sniffed the air and nodded. "Moonpaw is right. All of the prey is hiding. For a newly named apprentice, you are pretty smart." The old deputy purred at her.

"Yes, she is. Moonpaw was up past moonrise practicing her fighting skills. She even fell asleep at the sandy hollow." Brightheart smiled down at her apprentice, her good eye shining.

Bloodpaw spat in annoyance. "What about me? Aren't I a good apprentice, Graystripe?" His dark brown tabby pelt bristled out. He looked like the legendary Tigerstar, but with red eyes. It wasn't a big surprise since Tigerstar was their father's father.

Graystripe stepped back from the sudden hiss. "Y-you are a good apprentice, but you-"

"Look so much like Tigerstar that you are afraid to train me?!" he spat at the old deputy.

"No, you are too violent. Just yesterday you almost killed Sunpaw while play fighting!"

Bloodpaw growled and pushed ahead of them. Jumping into the bushes, he caught a mouse and padded back toward camp. He had ripped its gray body open and snapped its head clear off.

Moonpaw watched her brother and quickly followed him. Her brother, though creepy and mean, was actually very sweet. Knowing both his good and bad side, Moonpaw liked his good side better.

Every once in a while, Bloodpaw would talk about how ThunderClan had become weak with a kittypet for a leader and how a cat named Scourge will pay, but it didn't happen often.

Willowpaw, Moonpaw's secret crush, was in the center of camp mewing with Crowpaw. Moonpaw always hated Crowpaw because he and Willowpaw were in love. Willowpaw knew that she hated him, but they never spoke of it.

"Hey, Moonpaw!" Willowpaw called.

The black tom looked up and started away. Before leaving, he grabbed a thrush from the freashkill pile and ran to Sunpaw.

After Crowpaw was out of earshot, Moonpaw dashed across the clearing to gray and brown tabby.

"How did hunting go? Catch anything?" Willowpaw mewed as Moonpaw came closer.

Moonpaw sighed and rubbed against Willowpaw. "Bloodpaw got mad and yelled at his mentor… but he caught a mouse. He ripped its head off…" The black she-cat shivered at the thought of the mouse's pain.

Reaching out with her tail, Willowpaw sighed with her. "He needs to learn that he's as good as any of us. Even if you are the kin of Tigerstar, that doesn't mean that he would turn into him."

"Yea, but Graystripe acts like he's scarred of Bloodpaw… and he can sense that." Moonpaw sighed again. Grabbing a sparrow from the freashkill pile, she motioned for Willowpaw to eat with her. She smiled and followed Moonpaw to the darkest corner in camp.

The two ate in silence ad they looked around camp. Everyone was so peaceful, but where was Bloodpaw? Moonpaw saw Mousefur and Longtail on a large boulder next to the elders' den, and Firestar and Sandstorm eating by the warriors' den. Graystripe and his mate, Millie, were sitting outside the nursery watching their new litter play fight.

Willowpaw smiled at her new brother and sister. She had been Graystripe and Millie's first kit, and she looked nothing like them; she only had Graystripe's long fur and Millie's soft eyes.

Mosskit looked up from under Dawnkit's ginger fur and dashed across the clearing. Dawnkit, after falling over, jumped up and followed the gray she-kit. They tackled each other into Leafpool's den. Moonpaw snickered as they came out screaming with Leafpool chasing them, playfully. Jayfeather, who had been standing next to the den, laughed when he heard the kits slam into their mother.

"I'm getting tired," Moonpaw yawned. She had been training all day with Bloodpaw and really wanted some sleep.

Willowpaw got up and started to the apprentices' den. "Let's get some sleep then. You are going to need it so that I don't smoke you too bad in training tomorrow." Willowpaw smiled and raced across the clearing.

"What? You smoke me? That's the other way around!" Moonpaw chased Willowpaw across the clearing. Moonpaw was faster than the other cats in ThunderClan and caught up to Willowpaw in no time. She tackled the gray and brown tabby, forcing both of them to hit the side of the clearing.

They both started rolling around camp pawing at each other, claws sheathed. Willowpaw aimed a blow at Moonpaw's ear, making her loose balance and to go under Willowpaw. Kicking at Willowpaw's stomach, Moonpaw managed to get her off and tackle her to the ground. She continued nipping at Willowpaw's neck and pawing at her stomach.

Willowpaw laughed as Mosskit tackled her off of Willowpaw. Dawnkit jumped on Moonpaw's shoulders, claws unsheathed, and bit her ear. Mosskit ripped at Moonpaw's side, tearing out a chunk of black fur. Moonpaw yowled and threw both kits off.

Blood dripped from the wound on her side and from her shoulders. Willowpaw rasped her tough over the wound on her side. "You can't use claws when you play fight, you kits," Moonpaw half hissed.

"We're sorry…" Mosskit mumbled.

"It's okay. Besides, you fought like warriors," Moonpaw meowed happily.

A soft growl came from behind them. Red eyes were glowing from the apprentices' den as Bloodpaw stepped out. "Warriors? I'd hate to see the apprentices if you call that warrior fighting," he spat.

Dawnkit jumped at Bloodpaw, going to bite his ear. The brown tabby swatted the small dark ginger kit away. He hit the ground hard and started yowling.

"You can't expect to attack someone head on. You have to catch them off guard. Like _this!" _He jumped at Moonpaw pinning her to the ground instantly. He ran his paw down her stomach, barely touching her with his claws. He did that a few times, running them as fast as he could without cutting her open. "And that's how you would kill a warrior. You rip their stomach open and leave them to bleed to death."

The brown tabby jumped off and padded back to the Apprentices' den. Tail flicking as he disappeared into the darkness.

Moonpaw spat at him before he disappeared. Dawnkit jumped up, hissing and shaking dust from his pelt. The small gray she-cat ran to her brother, licking his ear.

Cloud of Clear Sky and Raven of Dark Day came from the nursery den with Snowkit hot on their paws. Cloud dashed ahead of them, stopping next to Dawnkit. Raven, almost crashing into Willowpaw, spun around and rammed into Moonpaw.

Snowkit snickered at them. She nudged Dawnkit, making him fall again. "Sorry!" she mewed quickly.

Dawnkit jumped up, tackling the small white she-cat. He laughed and dashed away from her. Raven chased them around the clearing, blocking their way from the Nursery. Cloud slammed into Raven's side just as Snowkit dashed past and into the den.

Moonpaw flinched when she heard Brook yowl at the kits. "Get outside and play!" she hissed.

Stormfur came out holding Snowkit by her tail. "Stay out here, Snowkit." He placed her down. "And are you sure you don't want a Tribe name?" The dark warrior licked his daughter's forehead purring.

Millie stepped out of the nursery. Eyes flaring, she looked around at the kits. "I was about half way asleep…" she growled softly.

Willowpaw snickered at her mother. She dashed across the clearing to her side. "Be cool, mom. They were just playing." She purred and ran back to Moonpaw.

Soft rain sprinkled on them; getting heavier and heavier. The two ran to the apprentices' den. Bloodpaw was inside already, cleaning blood from his paws. A few bones lay at his paws.

"Don't ask…" he murmured. Continuing to lick the blood off his whiskers and paws.

Water splashed through the den as Willowpaw and Moonpaw shook their fur. Bloodpaw jumped back, his fur spiked out.

"Your names should be Willowlake and Moonpool!" he spat in anger, licking his wet fur.

Moonpaw snickered at the names. She would rather be named Moonpelt or Moonfur instead. She started licking Willowpaw's fur until it was dry; and Willowpaw licking her fur. A purr rumbled in Moonpaw's throat, but she quickly stopped herself before anyone noticed.

"I'd rather be named Willowclaw or Willowtail," Willowpaw suddenly mewed. They were lying in their moss beds now, and Bloodpaw was curled up in his.

His brown tabby head shot up as Crowpaw padded into the den. He lay next to Willowpaw purring loudly. Willowpaw turned her head to lick Crowpaw's ear. His purr grew louder as Moonpaw's sadness grew with it.

Bloodpaw jumped up growling. Every hair on his brown tabby pelt stood out in anger. When he growled, it was with pleasure and blood lust. "The shadows are coming…" he hissed softly.

The shadows? What did he mean? Before Moonpaw could ask, her brother shot out of the den just as Sunheart was coming in, covered in water.

"Where is Bloodpaw going?" Sunpaw asked in curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

Moonpaw shrugged. "He said the shadows were coming… what in StarClan's name does that mean?" She turned to Willowpaw, but quickly looked away when she noticed Crowpaw looking at her.

All of the apprentices jumped up at Bloodpaw's yowl. "ShadowClan are attacking!" he yowled.

Moonpaw ran out of the den and over to he brother. ShadowClan scent washed over her as she neared him, and she turned to the entrance. Firestar jumped down from his den, glaring at the camp entrance.

Cloudtail, who was dragging a piece of bramble to the warriors' den, had stopped with spiked fur. Brightheart jumped through the warriors' den, standing next to her mate.

Millie grabbed her kits, taking them to the nursery den. Dawnkit protested against it, but followed as Mosskit ran in. Raven ran to the clearing followed by Cloud and Snowkit. Stormfur ran over to them, but ran into Firestar when Raven jumped out of his way.

"Come back to the nursery, kits!" Brook called out to them.

Raven and Cloud looked up, but stayed where they were. Snowkit dashed across the clearing and to her mother. She rubbed into Brook's fur, and ran into the den.

Whitekit was hiding behind her mother, Ferncloud, glaring at the two tribe named kits. Her green eyes glowed like fire at them

Stormfur, finally catching them by their tails, carried them back to the nursery den.

Just as he set them down, a small brown tabby jumped out of the barrier around the camp. His claws were unsheathed in attack and teeth barred. A dark ginger she-cat jumped over him, landing on his other side. From between them, a large white tom with black paws stepped out followed by a tortoiseshell and a brown tabby.

The brown tabby looked just like Bloodpaw, but with white patches and green eyes. He growled as he looked at the clan. "You call this a clan?!" he hissed. "All I see are a bunch of kittypets!" he spat.

Squirrelflight hissed in annoyance. "Why don't you come down here and tell that to my face?!" she challenged, stepping out from the rest of the ThunderClan cats. Her ginger fur sparkled in the rain and light.

He hissed, running past the dark ginger she-cat at her.

"Wait, Tigertail!" the white tom cat with black paws yowled after him.

Tigertail ignored him, still running for Squirrelflight.

Moonpaw jumped in his way, taking the full blow from his charge. She fell to the stony earth, blood dripping from her shoulder. She arched her back to attack the fallen warrior, when he jumped up.

He turned to face the black apprentice, growling. "You dare attack the kin of Tigerstar?!" Blood dripped from a small cut over his right eye.

Moonpaw stepped back in confusion. She hissed and stepped fore ward. "We are of the same blood, mouse-brain!" She leapt at the tabby warrior, biting his ear. She weaved past his swinging paws to dig her claws into his neck and back. He yowled in protest, swinging his head around.

The rest of the ShadowClan warriors poured into the clearing. After a few heartbeats, she heard cats yowling and felt blood from others being flung around. The tabby warrior yowled again as Bloodpaw clung to his chest, ripping him open.

Something covered Moonpaw's right eye, sudden pain pulsing through it. Blackstar's scent wound around her, and she bit down harder on Tigertail's ear. She wasn't going to be pulled off, no way!

Holding as hard as she could to Tigertail, Blackstar pulled back on her cutting over her eye. Blood fell into her eye, and blinding her. She let out an ear piercing screech, falling to the ground. More blood fell below her as she twisted and turned on the ground. Her yowled grew louder until she couldn't hear any of the other cats screaming.

Bloodpaw had dropped from Tigertail's chest, and was staring at Blackstar. All the cats in the clearing had stopped and were staring at Moonpaw.

Squirrelflight pushed through the crowd with Brambleclaw on her tail. Willowpaw started through the cats, but was tackled by the dark ginger she-cat, Russetfur. Squirrelflight stood over her kit, lapping her tongue over her scar. Her tail wrapped around the black apprentice, giving her warmth.

Bloodpaw glares at Blackstar. His red eyes light up with rage and sparkled with a killing lust. "You hurt my sister… You…you… mouse-brain!" The tabby jumped at Blackstar, twisting and landing on his shoulders. He quickly dug his claws into the leader's shoulders, and bit down on his neck.

His eyes blazing, Bloodpaw twisted, breaking Blackstar's neck. The tabby jumped off of Blackstar, landing softly next to his sister. The leader fell to the ground, twitching nine times, and then laying still. Oakfur ran to his dead leader, looking down at his limp body.

All of ShadowClan had stopped fighting to look at their leader. A few hissed in rage, and some glared at Bloodpaw.

A high yowl broke out above the silence, making Moonpaw jump up. Graystripe had tackled Russetfur, for some reason, and was clawing at her face. He landed a blow to her ear and another to her muzzle.

The dark ginger she-cat jumped back, slipping over a wet rock, and landing sprawled out on the ground. She twisted past Graystripe's paw and snagged his ear with her claws.

Moonpaw didn't listen to the fight any longer. The yowl was what she was interested in. As she pushed her way through the throng of cats, Daisy tackled a brown tabby, Toadfoot, away from something. Toadfoot yowled running back to the other ShadowClan cats.

Daisy chased the brown tom cat up to the entrance and out into the forest.

Moonpaw slinked closer to where the yowl came from. All her emotions froze when she saw what was there. A brown and gray tabby body lie limp in the middle of the clearing. Her body wasn't moving, showing that she wasn't breathing.

Rage, the emotion Moonpaw used leas, started growling out of control. Every memory of her and Willowpaw hunting and training together, flashed by. Every second, every day, every possible thing they had done together.

Shadows from all over the clearing surrounded Moonpaw in a protective shield. She didn't want any one to see her in her present state. All that she wanted was for Willowpaw to be okay; or, if Willowpaw was dead, to avenge her.

Russetfur had stopped fighting to look at Moonpaw. Her dark ginger pelt pricked with uncertainty. Graystripe had jumped back to his daughter. The gray and brown she-cat still wasn't breathing.

The black shadows flashed across the clearing, flashing around Russetfur. Moonpaw ran with the shadows, jumping into the huge mass just as the darkness around her faded.

All was quiet inside the darkness. Russetfur's breathing, strong and panicking, was the only thing that broke the silence. She was floating in the darkness, closer to the edges. Even if she got close to the outside, all it would do was shock her; what a mouse-brain.

Moonpaw pushed off a small darker spot, ramming into Russetfur's side. She yowled in surprise, but she smiled when she noticed Moonpaw was only a small apprentice. Black fur mixing with dark ginger fur as she bit down on Russetfur's neck. Her sweet blood flowed easily into Moonpaw's mouth.

Yowling broke from Russetfur, making Moonpaw jump back. She hissed, spitting out the acid tasting blood. Russetfur's name should be Russetblood! Or, better yet, Rustedblood. Her blood tasted awful!

The ginger ShadowClan deputy jumped at Moonpaw, leaving a long scratch on her side. It sting, but quickly healed as the shadows swam in. Moonpaw smiled. She couldn't be hurt while in the shadows!

More shadows surrounded the ginger deputy. She hissed in surprise, not being able to move. The dark shadows tightened around the screaming she-cat. Every ounce of life was being drained from her.

With one last meow of pain, Moonpaw tightened the shadows until she heard a loud snap. As soon as the snap was heard, all of the darkness faded away to go back to their homes. Russetfur's dead body fell to the earth, leaving the other clan cats shocked.

Toadfoot grabbed Russetfur's scruff, dragging her to the top of the hollow. "This isn't over yet!" he hissed as both he and Russetfur's body disappeared.

Tigertail and the tortoiseshell were taking Blackstar's body, while the other ShadowClan cats were chased out. Tigertail lashed his tail in Bloodpaw's direction, showing that he could still fight; but the she-cat flicked his shoulder and they disappeared over the hollow.

Willowpaw! Moonpaw ran across the clearing to the gray brown she-cat. Her breathing was shallow, but at least she was breathing. The black she-cat sighed. Her crush was safe, for now. ShadowClan would be back but they had to get a new leader and deputy before paw.

Sharp yowling came from the top of the hollow. Every cat looked up as a brown tabby tom came running into the clearing. "Firestar," he called. "WindClan needs your help!"

Firestar stepped forward. "What is it, Onestar?" he mewed.

"Dogs! They are attacking!"

Whitewing, licking a cut on Ashfur's ear, looked up suddenly. The gray warrior next to her laid his tail over her back in an attempt to comfort her. All of the cats looked uneasy, except Crowpaw. He sat in the entrance to the Apprentices' den, smiling down at his paws.

Why was Crowpaw so happy…? Moonpaw buried her face into Willowpaw's wet fur, drowning out the noise of the other cats.

Onestar was pawing at the ground. "There are three dogs, bigger than any we've seen! Their fur is thicker and they have bigger teeth!" The brown tabby tried showing the other cats how they acted by crouching down; waging his tail back and forth. He stepped forward and jumped in the air, landing a few tail lengths away on a small rock. Once his paws touched the rock, he flicked his paws under it and threw the rock across the clearing.

Moonpaw snickered. Onestar was acting like a kit and he didn't even know it. Pounding on rocks was exactly like what Whitekit and Raven did.

"They have taken Crowfeather and Nightcloud. We couldn't stop them, and the weird thing, they only attacked warriors and apprentices." He looked away from the other cats. "When Crystalkit ran in front of a large brown wolf, it flicked the kit with its paw before jumping at another warrior… I just don't understand!" The brown leader's claws dug into the rock.

Moonpaw stepped forward. "Maybe because they have honor. I've seen dogs like that, and I didn't attack them. A brown one saw me and just kept walking."

A growl came from the Apprentices' den. Crowpaw was glaring at Moonpaw through bright yellow eyes. He had always hated her, but Moonpaw never knew why. Maybe because she was a better fighter then him, or because Willowpaw was even her friend.

Firestar looked from Moonpaw to Onestar. "Are these dogs attacking now?" he mewed.

"Yes, they are. We need your help to get Crowfeather and Nightcloud back." Onestar dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader.

The ginger tom flicked his tail. "Cloudtail, Sandstorm, Moonpaw, Birchfall, Bloodpaw, Poppypettal, Honeypelt, Hollyleaf, Lionclaw; I want you to go with Onestar to help WindClan." He placed his tail on Moonpaw's back. "Be careful and Willowpaw will be in great paws. So don't worry." The leader licked his kin's scar before running to the camp entrance.

"Brambleclaw, you and Graystripe are in control until we get back," Firestar meowed as he and the large patrol ran into the forest.

Onestar took a sharp turn, leading toward the WindClan border. Moonpaw ran at her brother's side, making sure not to loose him. His pelt had a few patches missing, and blood replacing it.

As the WindClan border came into view, yowling and barking rose from the clearing. A large brown dog with long fur was throwing a smaller cat off. When the cat screamed, Moonpaw found out it was Breezewing.

Hollyleaf gasped quickening her pace. Lionclaw padded at her side placing his tail on her back. Onestar flicked his tail. "You can go ahead if you like."

With that, Moonpaw and Bloodpaw dashed across the stepping stones that lead to the WindClan border. Moonpaw heard Hollyleaf right behind them, but was too busy starring at the brown dog in front of her. Its brown fur was darker over its whole body, but had brighter patches in its head, chest, and back.

Bloodpaw jumped up, landing on the dog's back. He twisted in the air and bit down on its ear. Moonpaw grabbed its foreleg; digging her claws in.

Breezewing looked up in amazement from where he lay on the ground. He obviously hadn't expected to see ThunderClan apprentices attacking a large dog.

Over from the WindClan camp came a lager snow white dog. Her blue eyes glowed as she grabbed Moonpaw off of the brown dog. Moonpaw saw the brown dog yip in shock, jumping for the white dog; only to be rammed into by Firestar and Cloudtail.

Bloodpaw had jumped off of the brown dog and grabbed the white dog's tail. These dogs were a bit different from other dogs. Their muscles were harder along with their fur being ratted and torn. Most dogs that Moonpaw had seen had their fur well groomed and they were weak.

A blue dog dashed across the open field, slamming into the white dog's side. She yipped and fell over. Her bark sounded furious, and it should be. This blue dog was obviously on her side and was attacking her.

He growled, flicking his tail to Moonpaw. The blue dog licked over her scar, making Moonpaw feel uncomfortable. Bloodpaw jumped to her side, hissing at the blue dog.

All of the fighting had just started, and had now stopped. There was something very strange about these dogs… but Moonpaw couldn't lay her paw on it. They just acted different from other dogs.

The brown dog ran to her side. He licked her forehead and flicked her shoulder with his tail. His eyes, though soft and gentle, glowed a bright red. Moonpaw jumped back.

A larger black tabby dog came forward. He barked something to the brown dog, again, flicking his thick tail to Moonpaw.

The brown dog nodded. "This is going to hurt you, Moonscar," he barked.

Moonpaw gasped. She could understand this dog! Before she could say anything, the brown dog dug his long, thick teeth into her neck. It didn't hurt, but she still yowled.

A different pain surged through Moonpaw's body. It was like her muscles burned, but no flame was around her. Memories that she never had flowed into her mind: attacking a huge black lizard, killing an animal that looked like a skinny horse, and being friends with a _wolf _named Stormfang.

She heard mews of horror and astonishment as the memories got stronger. The name "Moonscar" was repeated in her head by a large silver she-wolf. These weren't dogs, they were wolves! That explains why their fur was thick and they had hard muscles. They even barked different.

When the pain was gone, she noticed that the other cats looked smaller. Stormfang, the brown wolf in front of her, smiled at her. Now he was about the same size as her! What was going on?!

"You are going to be a great Alpha Female, Moonscar. Just as CloudPack said," Stormfang barked.

"Alpha Female?" Moonpaw echoed. "And my name is Moon_paw_, not Moon_scar_."

Stormfang snickered. "You are only a Short Fur? Ha! And how old are you? One thousand years?" He flicked her ear with a brown forepaw.

Moonpaw dodged it. "One thousand years?! No! I'm only six and a half moons!"

"You are very young for an Alpha Female… Oh well. It's finally nice to meet you, Moonpaw. CloudPack has told us that you will come to lead HowlPack, and now you are here!" The brown wolf jumped up in excitement.

The blue wolf that had saved Moonpaw stepped forward. He licked Stormfang's cheek and looked to Moonpaw. "I'm Bluesun, and I'm going to help you become a better wolf, Moonscar." He bowed his head to Moonpaw.

Wolf? Moonpaw looked down and howled in alarm. She was a wolf! A black wolf at that. Darker stripes covered her fur making her seam as if she were a tabby cat.

Stormfang signaled to her. "Come, we must go back to HowlPack to tell them the moon has come."

Moonpaw looked back to her clan. "What about ThunderClan?" she barked.

The brown wolf turned back. "They will be fine without you. Now come on! Shimmerfang doesn't have long to live, and only the moon can replace her!" Stormfang tugged at her tail.

Bloodpaw was looking at her with bright bloody eyes. "Please don't go…" he whispered.

"I'll be back soon, brother. Keep an eye on Willowpaw, and tell her that I was killed in the fight. I don't wish for her to worry about me…" Moonpaw licked her brother's forehead and followed Bluesun, Stormfang, and the white wolf into the distance.


	2. Moon covered by howls

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 2**

**Moon covered by howls**

Bloodpaw watched as his only sister padded into the distance. Once a cat and now a wolf; lost from the Thunder and given to the Howls… He turned away, not wanting to watch her leave. How Bloodpaw wished he could run after her, but he promised that he would watch over Willowpaw for her, and he couldn't let her down.

Firestar laid his tail over Bloodpaw's back. "I'm sorry about Moonpaw, Bloodpaw," he mewed, pain showing in his voice. "If I could, I would make her come back…"

"No. Let's go back to ThunderClan. WindClan doesn't need us anymore…" Bloodpaw started back toward camp when Cloudtail jumped in front of him.

He hissed at the white warrior before turning back to Firestar. "Don't forget about Crowfeather and Nightcloud!" Cloudtail hissed.

"Yes. Cloudtail is right, for once. We can't leave until Crowfeather and Nightcloud are returned safely." The ginger leader signaled to his clan to gather around. Onestar was mixed in with the other cats, sitting next to Poppypettal.

Lionclaw was settled next to Breezewing with Hollyleaf at his other side. Poppypettal licked a few cuts on Cloudtail's shoulder before looking back to her leader. Bloodpaw looked over his fur to find he had no cuts whatsoever.

"Before we leave WindClan territory," Firestar began. "We must bring Crowfeather and Nightcloud home. The wolves have taken them for prisoners, and we must take them back!"

Lionclaw spat to the side. "Crowfeather is just a big push over," he hissed in Hollyleaf's ear.

"I agree," Hollyleaf mewed.

Birchfall and Sandstorm jumped up. "Crowfeather is a loyal WindClan cat. He was one of the ones to guide us to this territory during the Great Journey. He deserves to be saved!" Birchfall meowed.

Sandstorm nodded. "Yes, he was a great help on the Great Journey. He was the one that, we heard, helped Feathertail see her reason for making the Great Journey." She raised her pale ginger tail toward the mountains. "The wolves went toward the mountains. Possibly, they live in the forest at the foot of the mountains."

Moonpaw was barely in the distance, about to disappear over the horizon, when she stopped and turned back. Her eyes, though far away, shined with despair.

Bloodpaw took a few steps forward without knowing it. "Moonpaw… please, come back to us…" he mewed softly.

The black wolf turned again, but jumped suddenly as something ran past her. Both of the figures were black and small, maybe pups or adult cats. From this distance, Bloodpaw couldn't tell. The figures dashed down the hill with great speed, strait to the large group of cats.

"Crowfeather, Nightcloud!" Onestar yowled.

"Mother, father!" Breezewing meowed as he dashed over to the black cats.

Nightcloud stopped to rub against her kit, but Crowfeather dashed past him and his leader to stand in front of Firestar. Pain struck Bloodpaw at how Crowfeather ignored his own son.

"Thank you, Firestar. But we could have handled those dogs by ourselves!" he hissed flicking his tail toward Moonpaw who still stood on the hillside. "Each of those dogs was mouse-brained. Especially that black one with the scar over its eye. It let us run right past it. That mutt didn't even give a rat's tail!"

Bloodpaw felt his claws dig into the cold bloody earth. He wanted so badly to rip Crowfeather's throat out, but knew that that would just start a war between WindClan and ThunderClan. So he held his rage. Maybe he would take it out on Crowpaw later…

Sandstorm's hiss broke through Bloodpaw's anger. She stood next to Firestar glaring at Crowfeather. "That _mutt _is _my _kin! And Moonpaw is _not _a mouse-brain!"

"What?!" Crowfeather yowled in surprise. "That dog is your kin?! How is that possible?!"

"Those wolves changed her into one of them!" Firestar hissed.

Bloodpaw smiled to himself. At lest he would still have energy to fight Crowpaw later. All of their yelling was getting his blood pumping. Knowing that Crowpaw's name was a little like Crowfeather's was gonna be even better!

"Can we leave _now?!"_ he mewed impatient.

Crowfeather glared at the young brown tabby. "We are talking! You can wait, kit," he meowed.

Bloodpaw gasped. No one called him a kit and got away with it! Cloudtail, obviously reading his mind, grabbed his tail and pulled him back. Bloodpaw growled and aloud his blood stained claws to sheath. "Well, I'm leaving! I can't stand WindClan territory and their '_thank you' _for rescuing them!"

Honeypelt padded behind the young apprentice. She was the one who raised him and Moonpaw when they were still kits so it was natural that she wanted to make sure he was okay. She made sure that her pelt never touched Bloodpaw's; afraid that he would get mad.

Lionclaw, after a long thought, ran after them. He padded at Bloodpaw's other side; copying Honeypelt. All of ThunderClan was afraid of Bloodpaw's anger issues, but he didn't care. As long as his sister was with him, nothing could go wrong. But Moonpaw was a wolf now; no longer with the lonely apprentice…

As they neared camp, a new sharp scent flowed past. It smelled of brambles and blood, but also of Moonpaw. This wasn't Moonpaw's scent, but Bloodpaw knew that it was related to him. Neither Brambleclaw… nor the legendary Tigerstar… Who was this?

He shrugged and jumped across the stepping stones. The scent was in ThunderClan territory! It hit him like a paw to the chest. Every step back to camp, every breath; it got stronger. Who was this?! Bloodpaw knew this cat, but also didn't know it!

Once back at camp, Honeypelt had noticed a blood trail making its way into the ThunderClan camp. Lionclaw signaled with his tail and the three padded into the camp.

A few cats; Brambleclaw, Graystripe, Daisy, and Mousewhisker were surrounding a small tabby cat. He looked exactly like Bloodpaw, but with a white muzzle, black tipped tail, and dark green eyes. Almost everything about this cat reminded him of himself! The scent, fur, even the muscles!

Bloodpaw ran down the slope and to the tom cat. "Who are you?!" he hissed.

The tom cat turned to look at Bloodpaw. It was like looking into a puddle! Eyes stern and heart broken, muscles flexed to show strength, even his fur… spiked out in all directions in fear and loneliness…

"I'm Sharppaw!" the brown tabby hissed; eyes blazing forest green.

Bloodpaw's growl strengthened. "Why are you in ThunderClan…?" Still bloody claws slipped out to scrap the cold rock floor.

Honeypelt had dashed across the clearing to talk to Leafpool. "And Moonpaw turned right into a wolf!" she was meowing. "Then she had to leave…"

"What about Firestar and the others? Or were you three the only survivors…" Leafpool mewed looking down.

"No, the others are okay. Firestar and Sandstorm are talking to Crowfeather. Bloodpaw got mad and use three came back." Lionclaw had snuck over to them while the two apprentices hissed at each other.

Sharppaw hissed again bringing Bloodpaw back to the fight they were having. "I'm here to bring you a message, Bloodpaw. You, for one thing, are my brother… I'm from ShadowClan…" Sharppaw looked down at a small gash on his leg that Bloodpaw had just noticed.

"B-brother?!" he yowled. "Is that why I know your scent?!" He shook his head. _The message! I have to know what it is! _"What is the message, brother?" he finally asked.

Sharppaw snickered. "You got so caught up in the brother thing that you almost forgot about my message." He smiled. "Now…" he started. "It's about our sister, Moonpaw… She has become a wolf for a reason. Her purpose was not to save WindClan, but to lead HowlPack. HowlPack is a legendary pack of wolves that got their Alphas chosen by CloudPack.

"CloudPack is StarClan to us, by the way. And Alphas are like leaders, but they have two. An Alpha Female and Alpha Male." Sharppaw was drawing something on the ground that looked a little like a paw print, but Bloodpaw couldn't be sure.

"This is the symbol of HowlPack. There are also MoonPack." Sharppaw next drew a small crescent moon with small ribbon like markings around it. "BloodPack." Now he drew a, what looked like, a rain drop. But Bloodpaw knew it was a drop of blood. "And DawnPack." Sharppaw finished up with drawing a setting sun.

"HowlPack has been in danger of MoonPack and DawnPack. Mostly DawnPack. They are planning on taking over HowlPack and killing all of the demons that occupy it."

"Demons?!" Bloodpaw hissed. "You never said anything about demons!"

"I didn't? I guess it slipped my mind. Well, HowlPack is occupied by Demon Vampire Wolves. They are very hard to kill and have pelts as hard as steel. Werewolves occupy MoonPack. During full moons, the demons get stronger and larger than normal wolves. In BloodPack, they are dire wolves. This means that they are larger than most wolves and a little stronger. And, finally, DawnPack are dragons, shadows demons, spirits, and many other demons."

"That's a lot…" Bloodpaw whispered.

"Yes, it is. This is why Moonpaw had to leave. She has to help HowlPack with their problem. And when her mission is finished, then she will decide whether to come back or not…" Sharppaw looked away with saddened eyes.

"Why do you care…? You don't know her… not like I do…" Bloodpaw mewed. He looked toward the apprentice den to see Crowpaw and Willowpaw sitting together. Willowpaw had her face buried in Crowpaw's chest.

_She doesn't know about Moonpaw _dying… _I better tell her…_ Bloodpaw started over to her and stopped a few tail lengths away. Willowpaw looked up with curious eyes.

She smiled at Bloodpaw. "How did the fight go? And where is Moonpaw? Is she okay…?" Her voice quickly changed to worry at his sad eyes.

"Um… I don't know how to tell you this… The fight went well, but Moonpaw didn't make it… And the only reason we didn't take her body to camp is because the wolves took her…" _That last part was true…Sorta. Moonpaw choose to go with the wolves._

Willowpaw stared in horror at Bloodpaw. It was as if someone had ripped her heart our and showed it to her. Leaving her in the dirt to bleed would be best… He grabbed Crowpaw and dragged him away. A slight shaking from Crowpaw told Bloodpaw that he was laughing! He stopped and dropped the black cat.

"Why are you laughing?!" he hissed. "My sister is dead! And you are laughing!!"

Crowpaw through his head back laughing hysterically. "That little kit is out of my way now! Now I have Willowpaw to myself!" He started laughing again, but was cut off as Bloodpaw bit down on his neck. The laugh changed to choking as Crowpaw fell to the cold rock.

Blood again covered the tabby apprentice and he threw the black tom below him across the clearing. "How could you say that?! Moonpaw only hated you because you always pushed her away!" Anger and pain flowed through Bloodpaw. Anger for the non-caring tom before him, and pain for the loss of his _dead _sister.

Crowpaw stood up, shaking. A flash of gray rammed into the black apprentice's side throwing him closer to the apprentices' den. Jayfeather hissed an annoyance. "You stupid fur ball! Moonpaw was the most loving cat in this entire clan! But you… You just couldn't see it!! She loved all things! She played with the kits! Even taught them warrior moves! She tried being nice to you, but all you did was flicked her away like she was some fly!" Jayfeather jumped at Crowpaw throwing him to the ground again.

It was then that the rest of the cats returned to see two cats of the same clan fighting. Firestar and Sandstorm ran down to them to pull them apart. Jayfeather lashed out at Firestar, who was holding him, and started kicking at Crowpaw.

"Stop fighting and tell us what happened!" Sandstorm growled, dropping Crowpaw hard on the ground.

"I told Willowpaw and Crowpaw that Moonpaw was dead, and Crowpaw said he was glad!" Bloodpaw growled, lashing out at Crowpaw's nose.

"D- oh…" Firestar mewed looking down to the rocks. "And who is _that?"_ He pointed over to Sharppaw with his tail.

"That's my brother… Sharppaw…" Bloodpaw mewed.

"Brother?!" Brambleclaw meowed from beside Firestar.

"I didn't believe him either…at first… But he looks like me, smells slightly like me… he even has my eyes…" His bloody glares went back to Crowpaw. "But you! You piece of fox dung!" Bloodpaw jumped at the black apprentice and dug his claws into his sides so as to not be pulled off. He then grabbed Crowpaw's neck and pulled out, attempting to snap it.

"Stop it, Bloodpaw!" Sharppaw yowled.

Bloodpaw immediately let go, shocked at his brother's yowl. "Why?! Didn't you hear what he said about-?" Crowpaw had sunk his teeth into a nerve on Bloodpaw's neck. The black apprentice had done it on purpose, twisting and damaging the nerve even further.

Darkness covered Bloodpaw's vision, and he felt himself falling asleep. Sharp pulls were coming from Crowpaw, but it was Brambleclaw that was pulling the black apprentice away from his son. It was too late for that. All of the feeling on Bloodpaw's body was gone. He couldn't even feel when his mother was pulling on him from behind.

"Don't faint, Bloodpaw!" Squirrelflight yowled through his neck fur. She pulled harder on her son until Bloodpaw could no longer see. All of the light from the clearing faded along with the air. Bloodpaw fell back onto the rock floor and fell asleep.


	3. Stone from the moon?

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 3**

**Stone from the moon?**

Moonpaw stared in amazement at the clearing below her. Wolves of different colored, some only from a cat's wildest dream, filled the camp. Some, smaller than the others, sat by with some skinny wolves with grayish hairs. Those were probably apprentices listening to stories from their elders.

"And then, Sunfang jumped into the dragon's back!" she heard a dark ginger elder barking. "Darkfang, the dragon below him," – the apprentices gasped at the name – "hissed and threw Sunfang off! Shimmerfang was there and attacked Darkfang just before he killed Sunfang."

The pups gapped and yipped for more. A smaller silver pup whispered something to a reddish pup next to her. The three turned to Moonpaw suddenly as if she had stepped on a stick.

The last pup, a copper colored on, gapped at her. He turned to the other growling something.

A silver and black elder, which was sunning out on a large rock, smiled at Moonpaw and waved with her old tail. Moonpaw waved back, not sure if she should have waved at all.

Out of a hole in a large broken rock came an old silver she-wolf. Her eyes, though bright yellow, seamed as if they were clouded with guilt and worry. With every step, the she-wolf lowered herself closer to the ground.

Stormfang, who had just reached her side, smiled at the large pack. Moonpaw didn't know his role, but she guessed that he was probably a warrior or something along those lines. This wolf was too crazy to be anything above that.

Stormfang howled out to the silver wolf that had lain out by the broken rock. She looked up. Immediately, her eyes lit up. She got to her old paws and ran to Moonpaw. Her motions were so fast that the black tabby wolf couldn't keep track of it! One second, she was by the rock; the next, she was in front of Moonpaw.

"Greetings, Moon," she barked dipping her head.

"Um. Please, don't bow. It's embarrassing…" Moonpaw mumbled.

The gray wolf lifted her head to gaze into Moonpaw's left eye where the scar was. "And why don't you want me to box, Moon? Don't you get royal treatment where ever you go?"

Stormfang coughed. "She use to be a cat, Shimmerfang…"

The silver wolf, Shimmerfang, smiled wider. "I guess you aren't the only one anymore, Stormfang." She turned back to Moonpaw. "You _are _Moonpaw, right?"

Moonpaw stepped back. How did this wolf know her name when she, herself, never told her?! "Y-yes… How did you know?"

"The moon has come to HowlPack!" Shimmerfang howled.

The whole pack jumped in joy and praise. This pack was weird… praising a _cat _that was changed into a _wolf _and just because some clouds told them to…

"I _knew _I was right! In your fur, Snowflake!" Stormfang shot at the white wolf that had almost killed Moonpaw earlier.

"Shut it, Storm!" she shot back showing her perfectly white teeth. "You are nothing but a kittypet to me anyway!" **(A kittypet means house cat and is an insult to cats.)**

Stormfang growled stepping back and swishing his tail side to side. "You sniffing for a fight?" he growled.

"Bring it on, kitten!" Snowflake howled before leaping at the brown wolf.

"STOP!" A tortoiseshell she-wolf jumped in front of both of them. Something blue surrounded her and blocked both wolves from colliding. Instead, both wolves were flung back. Stormfang landed on his paws, while Snowflake fell on her side.

"Don't you _ever _treat your Alpha Male like that again! You hear me, Snowflake?!" She growled lowering into an attack position, only to have the blue energy around her fade.

_This pack needs to get it together…_ Moonpaw growled in her head. _A few minutes here and they are already fighting!_

"Yes… I get it, Firestorm! Come on… let's go." Snowflake had signaled to the black tabby wolf next to her. The black tabby, that Moonpaw had come to know as Raindrop, followed Snowflake into a larger den.

Moonpaw sighed again. This morning, she woke as an apprentice of ThunderClan. Now, out of nowhere, she was going to be Alpha Female of a pack. And the pack fought _a lot._

"I'll be in my den," Shimmerfang suddenly barked. She pointed toward the broken rock. "My den is in the largest crack under ShatteredRock." The silver wolf then ran across the clearing to the large opening in the middle; disappearing into the darkness.

"Um… You might want to meet everyone in camp, Moonpaw," Stormfang barked. He followed the Alpha Female into her den. Light ripped through his fur as he padded into the darkness.

_And to think, that idiot is Alpha Male of this pack. The wolves in this pack aren't even trained right!_

"Demon Vampire Wolves, actually!" barked a black wolf. He had a brighter brown underbelly that reminded Moonpaw of Spiderleg. Over his left eye was a lightning mark that was, maybe, a dark ginger. He sat a few tail lengths away from Moonpaw and smiled. "I'm Dawnwolf. You don't have to say your name, Moonpaw. I've known it since you came to camp."

Moonpaw smiled, not sure how to react. Being a wolf was new to her since she was a cat before paw. She didn't know if she should just say hi, touch noses, or flick her tail at him.

"Here, we just say hi. So don't worry," Dawnwolf barked again.

"Um… How are you answering the questions on my head?" Moonpaw barked out of curiosity.

Dawnwolf smiled. "You mean you didn't know? Demon Vampire Wolves, like us, have special powers. Mine is mind reading. You, obviously, control shadows."

Just as he said 'special powers' visions of the fight with ShadowClan had zapped through her head. He must have seen them and found out her power right away. Moonpaw knew that she was different from the other cats of ThunderClan, but was her brother different too?

"Bloodpaw… I have heard that name before. But I don't think that CloudPack mentioned him. Your brother might be here later, possibly," Dawnwolf answered yet another unasked question.

"Having you in my head is kind of creepy… Is there a way you can, ya know, not do that?" Moonpaw covered her head with her tail, trying to block Dawnwolf's power.

"I think I can… Never tried it before…" He scratched the lightning mark over his eye. "Nope," he finally barked and licked a forepaw. "I got my power from my dad. He couldn't control his mind reading also." Dawnwolf pulled his wet paw over one of his ears and continued. "But my father could also control fire and my mother controls ice."

"Who was your father?" Like Moonpaw would know. She wasn't a wolf so how would she know wolf legends or other wolves?

"Demon Vampire Wolves, Moonpaw," Dawnwolf corrected with a snicker. "And my father was Sunfang…" He looked down, sadness covering his face.

"Oh!" Moonpaw barked realizing that Dawnwolf's father was dead. "I'm _so_ sorry, Dawnwolf! I didn't mean to get you upset!"

"No, it's fine. He died a long time ago." Dawnwolf then stood on his back legs, lifted his forepaws up, and made them shape a rainbow when he pulled them apart. As he did so, Dawnwolf made a 'baa' noise.

Moonpaw just stared. _What an idiot… Oops! _She remembered that Dawnwolf could head her thoughts.

"I know I am. Everyone thinks I'm an idiot!" he snickered again. "All accept my friend, Cinderflame." His ears perked up. "Speak of the fire and she shall come…" He turned around to meet the blue gaze of a gray she-wolf.

She had bluish markings covering her body and triangle markings on all of her paws. With one glance at Moonpaw, she flicked Dawnwolf and they padded to the same den that Snowflake and Raindrop had disappeared into. Before disappearing, their tails twined, in friendship, and they padded in together.

_Maybe they were in love, but hid it with being friends…_ Moonpaw didn't know. _Wolves. What can ya do about them…?_

She glanced at the cave that Shimmerfang and Stormfang had gone into. A few quick bounds and she was inside the cave. It was darker than she wanted inside. The edges of the cave were closing in on her. Fear of being trapped in the cave and no one noticing pulled at her tail. It all disappeared when she burst into a larger clearing.

Light from a bright blue stone filled the cave. It was so bright; Moonpaw had winced when she first looked at it.

"This is the MoonStone, Moonpaw," Shimmerfang barked. "CloudPack brought it from the old cat territories to my den when we followed them here. Without us, the clans wouldn't have survived…" She lowered her head, staring at the cold earth.

Stormfang pushed her from behind. "Press your nose to the MoonStone! Then you will get your ten lives and your Alpha Female name!" He pushed her again.

Moonpaw stared at the shining rock in amazement. With each paw step closer, she could feel that wolves and cats were around her, watching her every move. Above, there was a hole in the roof letting moonlight in. The moon had risen before they got to the camp, but there was a certain light that made the camp seam as if it was day time.

Every step closer, every heart beat, every breath seamed to get harder to grasp and even harder to keep steady. Just as she was a few inches away, Moonpaw stretched her neck to touch her nose to the stone. It was cold. The cold washed through her fur and closed around her. As the seconds ticked by, Moonpaw pressed her thin body to the coldness of the rock and fell asleep.

A thick fog surrounded Moonpaw. It was thicker than the water in the lake that separated the four clans. The only thing that could get through was the scents of forest, wind, water, and fire. _These must be what the other packs smell like…if there are any others._

She tried looking around when the fog started lifting. Cats surrounded her; glimmering in starlit pelts. It was then that she noticed she was in cat form, but still had the darker stripes from her wolf self.

The cats weren't paying attention to her, but we looking next to her. Moonpaw looked over and was surprised to see a brown tom cat with brighter patches next to her. His eyes looked thoughtful and fur lye flat. Moonpaw had never seen this cat before, but he had obviously seen these cats before.

"Greetings, Stormrunner," meowed a silvery she-cat. She stepped forward to touch noses with the brown tom.

"It's nice to see you again, Silverstream," Stormrunner meowed back in a familiar voice. "But it's Storm_fang _now. CloudPack gave me my Alpha Male name a few suns ago." He smiled down at the smaller silver she-cat.

Silverstream then turned to Moonpaw. "What are you doing here, strange cat? I don't remember you from any of the four clans."

Stormfang snickered. "This is Moonpaw from ThunderClan. She needs to get her ten lives from CloudPack, but we wound up here. Sorry about that, Silverstream."

Out of the throng of cats came another silver she-cat that looked a lot like Silverstream but with longer fur. "Stormfang how is my father?" she called.

"Graystripe is fine, Feathertail!" he called back.

Feathertail smiled and disappeared into the silvery pelts of the other StarClan cats.

"Please, follow me to CloudPack. StarClan and CloudPack have been friends for generations so we may cross the borders as wolves." Silverstream pelted past the other StarClan cats and over toward a darker forest.

Moonpaw shivered. The forest was drenched in fog with red eyes glaring at them. Moonpaw walked after Silverstream with Stormfang at her shoulder. He laid his tail over her back in comfort. He was scared, too…

Fog from the forest fell over them and so did a sense of insecurity. Silverstream faded into the distance along with Stormfang. The brown tom had taken one look back before vanishing in a flash of light. The light burst from his fur making him seam bigger. His body grew into the full wolf form that she had come to know.

Shadows from the forest surrounded Moonpaw. She shivered, frightened of the power that she had experienced back in ThunderClan. The shadows flew around her and covered her body. She was shocked by the sudden pain that followed the embrace of the darkness.

When the shadows left, she was once again her wolf self. The power that surged through her pained her, slightly, but also felt good. Like she was waiting for the pain to happen. She shook the extra darkness from her already black tabby fur and quickened her pace after Stormfang and Silverstream.

Silverstream had come into view again, but wasn't a cat any longer. Now she was a bright silver she-wolf with a line of gray running down her spine. This wolf looked like the young silver she-cat, but didn't at the same time. Her fur was, somehow, shinier. Slightly darker markings covered her body; a few were leading to her brilliant blue eyes.

Stormfang shook star dust from his dark brown fur. A thin smoke – clouds – surrounded the young wolf. His eyes shined with pride. "Come on, Moonpaw! We are almost to Cloud Clearing!" The brown wolf ran past Silverstream and disappeared into a cloud-like bush.

Silverstream sighed. "That wolf has become so pupish since the last time I saw him." She turned to look at the black wolf behind her. "But, he is right. Cloud Clearing is just ahead, Moonpaw." Her bright fur stuck out from Stormfang's and Moonpaw's. It was starlit, while theirs' were cloudy. "Coming?" Her silver tail flicked at Moonpaw.

Her paws moved before she could. "Yes!" she barked, surprised. The young black she-wolf was already standing next to Silverstream. Before she could bark another word, Moonpaw was racing through the trees. The air felt good flowing through her fur.

Bright light flickered behind the bushes and she slowed to a walk. She padded into the clearing. Clouds laminated on all sides. Stormfang was sitting in front of a silver wolf. The wolf looked like Shimmerfang, but younger in body and fur.

"Moonpaw, so nice of you to join us." The she-wolf barked. Light silver fur shined with a slight dimness.

"Umm…" Moonpaw was at a loss for words. All of the wolves around her made her freeze. "Thanks, Shimmerfang." She couldn't help but speak to the silver wolf. At first, it felt stupid to call this strange she-wolf Shimmerfang; but the wolf nodded in response. This was really Shimmerfang? Or did the wolf see her mistake and decide not to correct her?

"Are you ready to receive your ten lives, young Moonpaw?" Shimmerfang barked.

Moonpaw looked away. Could she really leave her brother, Willowpaw, and her clan? This pack really needs her and they said that only the moon could replace their current Alpha Female. She had to do it! This wasn't about what she wanted, but what HowlPack needed!

"Yes," she barked loud and clear. "I am ready to receive my ten lives from the great CloudPack to lead my pack."

Stormfang barked proudly to her. His affection and heart were in sync with the way he led his pack. Now it made sense; Stormfang didn't want to lead his pack with anger and power, but with love and compaction. Just like Firestar leads ThunderClan.

"Close your eyes, Moonpaw." Shimmerfang jumped from where she stood until she was in front of Moonpaw. "Let the new Alpha Female be remembered for her sentries of leadership!"

Moonpaw closed her eyes to listen to her Alpha Female. From this moment on, she was going to be a wolf of HowlPack. No…not just a wolf. Alpha Female of HowlPack…


	4. Blood Mixed in Water

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 4**

**Blood mixed in water**

Bloodpaw yawned. He had fallen asleep the night before with no problem. It was his dreams that haunted him. Visions of Moonpaw being torn apart by those rotten wolves! He half hissed to himself before he remembered that Sharppaw was asleep next to him.

His only sister, and friend, was lost to the wolves. She didn't say that she would visit, but what if she was dead? How would he be able to morn for his sister if he didn't know of her death?

Finally, he hissed and stormed out of the den. The sun was up in the sky now. It shown brightly over the hollow; lighting all the usual dark corners of camp. Why? Why did it have to be sunny the day after his sister had disappeared?

_Well… she is supposed to be Alpha Female of that pack. Maybe she is being treated right. But what if they have to fight to become Alphas! _Bloodpaw mentally screamed. All of this worrying about Moonpaw was getting him tired again. _I can't sleep! _He mentally hissed to himself. _I have warrior training today! _

Just as he got his tail fur flat again, Sunpaw padded up to him. Her bright amber eyes, that usually scarred him, seamed pleasing. Her fur was shining brightly from a swift grooming. Usually her fur was ratted from play fighting with the kits, but not today. She looked…nice.

Bloodpaw purred. "Hello Sunpaw. How are you today?" Why was he happy? His sister was just taken from him, and he was happy? This was wrong!

"I'm fine," she mewed back. "But I wanted to see how you were holding up, Bloodpaw. You seam pretty down since yesterday. I know you are sad about Moonpaw…but I'm sure that she is in StarClan watching us now."

Bloodpaw almost asked, 'what are you talking about?' Then he remembered that everyone that wasn't at the fight in WindClan thought she was dead.

"Yes. She was a good she-cat. I'm sure th-" A sharp pain entered his throat. He yowled in pain and fell to the ground. Flashes of the fight with Crowpaw came back. Another hiss escaped him.

"Leafpool, Jayfeather! Bloodpaw needs you!" Sunpaw yowled and rushed over to the Medicine Den. Just as her ginger tail disappeared into the entrance, Jayfeather came out with a bundle of leaves and stems. He stopped next to the brown tabby grabbing, what looked like, a Marigold stem. He chewed it up while pawing at some cobweb.

Crowpaw was sitting with Willowpaw over by the freashkill pile. He smiled at Bloodpaw; but not the kind of smile you see on a friend. Willowpaw was still mourning over the loss of her best friend. Even Crowpaw couldn't cheer her up. Nothing would make Willowpaw happy besides finding out that Moonpaw was alive. But he couldn't tell her. He made a promise to his sister that nothing about her being alive would escape his mouth.

Jayfeather pressed the Marigold on a few bite marks. The marks had been there since Bloodpaw woke up, but he hadn't felt them. The scents of herbs clung to his pelt. Now he knew why the apprentices' den smelt funny; it was because he slept in the Medicine Den.

Once the cobwebs were in place, Bloodpaw jumped up. He shook his fur to get rid of the dust that found its way into his bark pelt.

"Hey!" Jayfeather hissed. "Don't be moving around so much! You'll just open up the wound again and I'll have to help you…_again!"_

Bloodpaw nodded, "Okay Jayfeather." He then dashed over to Willowpaw and Crowpaw.

"Get back!" Crowpaw hissed. "She's sad! Don't go near her!" His black pelt, thought darker, reminded Bloodpaw of his sister. He missed her so much, but knew that she was okay with the wolves.

"I just want to speak with her!" he shot back. Knowing that violence wasn't the answer, he straitened up. "Please. Willowpaw, may I speak with you?"

Crowpaw still hissed at the apprentice. The gray and brown she-cat next to him didn't respond. She continued to stare at the ground.

"It's about Moonpaw…" Bloodpaw whispered.

Her attention was suddenly on him. Could he tell her that Moonpaw was alive? No… he couldn't. But she is so depressed. Maybe he should hint it…

"Come with me, Willowpaw. And leave your mate behind." He glared at Crowpaw for a second before giving Willowpaw his tail. Both he and the gray and brown she-cat padded out of the camp and to the training area.

Willowpaw sat beside a rock on the edge of the clearing. Bloodpaw jumped on top of it. He hissed at a snail that had found a comfortable place to sleep, and batted it away.

"Okay, Willowpaw… There is something you need to know about Moonpaw's…death." He almost hissed the last word, but forced himself to stay strait.

"W-what do you mean?" Willowpaw nearly hissed. She was very protective of Moonpaw, and Bloodpaw knew it. He knew that she had feelings for the black she-cat that she probably hides with Crowpaw.

Bloodpaw took a deep breath. The stress of deciding to tell her or not made his brain hurt. She deserved to know, but he couldn't tell her because Moonpaw told him not to. He decided to just tell her. "Moonpaw isn't dead," he meowed.

Green eyes lit up. Her fur pricked with excitement. "She's alive?!" she meowed. Her happiness filled the clearing with joy. "Where is she? Hiding?"

Bloodpaw flinched. Could he tell her that part? He had to. She had to know it all. "She isn't hiding. Wolves took her. They changed her into one of them and are making her their…_Alpha Female._ Alpha Female and Alpha Males are leaders in our language." He looked away incase Willowpaw saddened.

"Oh…" was all she mewed. "Can't we go see her?" Her eyes lit up even more. She really missed Moonpaw; no wonder she wanted to see her. Maybe she could finally tell Moonpaw the secret feelings she has kept inside all these moons.

But the brown tabby had to face the truth. He didn't know where the pack of wolves lived. Or if there were more that would kill them. All he knew is that she now lived in HowlPack.

"To tell the truth… I don't know where she is…" He looked away again, just in case she really was getting depressed. He hated making Willowpaw sad. Willowpaw was a strong she-cat; she could kill Bloodpaw if he lied at all.

She hissed lightly. Bloodpaw felt bad. He had raised her hopes, and slashed them in the same day. But at least she knew that Moonpaw was alive.

Her eyes lit up. "Why don't we ask Jayfeather to find her?" she mewed. "He can use his power to find the pack!" Every inch of her body was shaking in hope.

Maybe that could work. But what if his power told them were a different pack was? What if they found DawnPack instead of HowlPack? "I don't know if that's a good idea. Maybe we should ask Sharppaw?" Bloodpaw meowed.

His brother seamed to know a lot about the packs. Maybe he knew where to find them. He had to!

Willowpaw nodded. "Let's go ask him. If he doesn't know, then we ask Jayfeather." Her eyes, usually bright with happiness or filled with sorrow, were hard. She glared at Bloodpaw for the first time as if she's been doing it all her life.

Bloodpaw nodded and ran back to camp; the gray and brown she-cat hard on his paws.

Sharppaw was already awake. He sat next to Berrynose and Cinderspirit talking of hunting and being a rouge. His tabby fur made Bloodpaw shiver. He looked so much like him that it was scary.

They padded over to the young tabby. "Hey, Sharppaw! Can we talk to you?" Bloodpaw meowed from the edge of the freashkill pile.

Sharppaw's head whipped around at the sound of his voice. "Bloodpaw, you are awake! I thought that you went to the apprentices' den to sleep." He dashed across the clearing to his brother. Even his voice sounded like Bloodpaw's. His looks were like Brambleclaw's and his.

Cinderspirit snickered and followed Berrynose over to the entrance of camp. "I never knew that Sharppaw had such a hard life…" Cinderspirit hissed as they disappeared into the bushes.

"So, what is it?" Sharppaw mewed.

Bloodpaw mentally flinched. He really felt weird talking to Sharppaw. This tom wasn't part of ThunderClan, but was his brother. How was this possible?

"Um… We want to know if you know where HowlPack is. We want to visit Moonpaw." Bloodpaw flinched away at Sharppaw's glare.

He glared from Bloodpaw to Willowpaw. "You told her?!" he hissed. "You were suppose to keep it a secret!" Sharp claws dug into the ground.

"Hey! Willowpaw had a right to know if her best friend was all right!" Bloodpaw hissed. "And so does Sunpaw…" He sighed.

Sharppaw relaxed. "Fine. Since Willowpaw _is _Moonpaw's best friend, that is accepted. But why Sunpaw?"

Bloodpaw sighed again. "I want her to come with us if you do know where HowlPack is. We will need all the help after all."

"I do know where HowlPack is, but it's dangerous. DawnPack territory is between us and HowlPack." His meow turned to a growl at the mention of DawnPack. His green eyes lit up in rage and anger. How did he know so much?

"Great! When can we go?" Willowpaw asked. "And do we need to tell Firestar? Or can we just say we are going to hunt…?" Her tail drooped in depression.

"We can't just say we are going hunting; Firestar will send our mentors with us! And he won't let three apprentices go into the forest; especially when one of us isn't from ThunderClan." Bloodpaw glanced at Sharppaw for a second before looking back at Willowpaw.

The she-cat sighed. "You're right. Then let's just go. We can just leave with Sunpaw, you, Sharppaw, and me." Her green eyes looked over to where Sunpaw sat with Crowpaw.

Sunpaw looked up just as Bloodpaw's eyes met hers. She said something to Crowpaw and padded over to them. "What are you talking about?" she mewed; eyes on Bloodpaw.

"Um…" Bloodpaw felt his fur get hot. He never had this heat near any other cat before. Was it fear? No…this was a good feeling. "We were talking of going to see Moonpaw," he finally meowed.

"What?!" Sunpaw almost yowled. "Don't kill yourselves! I can't live without you guys!" Her ginger fur spiked out and amber eyes filled with fear.

Sharppaw laughed. "So you haven't told her the good news?"

Bloodpaw and Willowpaw shook their heads and laughed with him.

"What's so funny?" Sunpaw mewed. Her head cocked to one side in confusion. She was always very curious and always skipped to conclusions.

Bloodpaw purred to himself. "Moonpaw isn't dead, but I only said she did because she didn't want you guys worrying about her." He took a quick stretch before continuing. "And we are going to see if the wolves haven't torn her apart yet. Wanna come?" He added another purr and a flick of his tail to the end.

Sunpaw's fur radiated heat. Her eyes grew brighter than usual and she shrieked in joy. "Yes, I'd love to go! I haven't gotten out of camp in forever!" Her meow grew and grew until Bloodpaw put his tail over her muzzle.

"Calm down, Sunpaw." He smiled down at her.

Willowpaw started twitching. Urgency rose from her pelt. "Can we go now?" she hissed.

Sharppaw took a few steps closer to the camp entrance. "We might want to leave now. It's getting late and we might get stuck at camp tomorrow with apprentice duties." He looked back when Sunpaw coughed. "I know I'm not from your clan, but I'm guessing that Firestar will put me to work since I'm here." He started over to the entrance. Bloodpaw and Sunpaw padded side by side with Willowpaw behind them.

The small patrol-like group pulled through the thorn bushes only to run into Hollyleaf and Poppypettal. Hollyleaf looked down on the apprentices with a slight grin. Her green eyes shown brightly behind her black fur. Poppypettal glanced around them for, maybe, a warrior.

"Where are you going?" Poppypettal mewed.

"Bloodpaw and Sunpaw decided to go hunting and we decided to come along," Willowpaw mewed smoothly.

Hollyleaf pointed over to some bushes near the WindClan border. "Try over there. I saw a huge rabbit a few minutes ago." She licked Bloodpaw's ear and smiled.

Bloodpaw gave his sister a slight glare, but it only made her laugh. "You are so much like Jayfeather, you don't even know how much." She and Poppypettal disappeared into the torn bushes.

Graystripe, Birchfall, and Sandstorm padded out of the bushes a little way from the WindClan bushes. Sandstorm looked at her grandson for a second before following Graystripe over. Her amber eyes shined at her grandson.

Birchfall had two mice handing by their tails in his mouth. He flicked his tail toward the camp, and Graystripe nodded. The light brown tabby grinned and ran through the bushes.

"What are you doing, Bloodpaw?" Graystripe meowed. He was trying to be nice, but you could hear the fear in his voice. It's not like Bloodpaw was going to start an apprentice army or anything.

"We were going hunting and Hollyleaf said to go over here." Bloodpaw mewed. He glared lightly at the gray tom.

Graystripe glared back. He really didn't trust Bloodpaw. This was wrong! Just because Bloodpaw was the kin of Tigerstar didn't mean that he would change like he did! He was also the kin of the great Firestar, but he didn't look anything like him.

"Very well. Be back before sunset." Graystripe flicked his tail and led Sandstorm back to the ThunderClan camp. Bloodpaw spat after him. That tom acted as if he was deputy. Sure, he use to be, but now Brambleclaw was! Not him!

"Come on, Bloodpaw," Sunpaw mewed. She twisted her tail in his and pulled. "We need to go save Moonpaw!" She tugged and the patrol bolted through the bushes.

Sharppaw pushes ahead and out of the bush. The river that separated WindClan and ThunderClan lay in front of them now. Sharppaw jumped across the stones that stuck out of the river. He landed lightly on the opposite side. "Your turn, Bloodpaw!"

Bloodpaw stepped back a few paces. He then dashed for the river and took a huge leap. He flew over the entire river in one bound and landed a few tail lengths behind Sharppaw.

"Nice one, bro."

"Thanks."

Sunpaw jumped on the stepping stones and Willowpaw only jumped on the stones near the edge. She made it in two bounds instead of three.

"Okay, let's go!" she meowed and dashed over to the lake.

Bloodpaw, Sunpaw, and Sharppaw followed. Again, Sharppaw ran ahead of them to take the lead. Water lapped at Bloodpaw's paws as the waves crashed in and out of the lake.

Sunpaw hissed at the water and moved closer to the WindClan moor. Bloodpaw couldn't help but snicker at her kit-like behavior. He lightly pushed her so that she started running I the water. The water flew up into the air and covered her body in cold wetness.

The moor land was bigger than Bloodpaw could imagine. By the time they had reached the forest on the other side of the moor, the sun had already set. Moonlight shown from the darkening moon that had started rising up. All of them were tired. Sunpaw had collapsed on a small rock, and Sharppaw was lying down; his head on his paws. Willowpaw was the only one standing. She seamed determined to find Moonpaw.

He padded over to the she-cat. "Maybe you should get some sleep, Willowpaw. We will continue tomorrow, and we will find Moonpaw."

Willowpaw nodded. "Okay, Bloodpaw, I can wait one more night." She jumped over to a puddle to lap at the fresh water.

Bloodpaw lie next to his brother. Their fur seamed to mix together as they breathed in unison. Their stripes started to connect until they looked like one cat.

Bloodpaw slowly let his eyes close.

Sleep came rather quickly to him. He stood in a small field with light clouds swimming around him. Clouds shaped like bushes stretched in front of him. They were in a strait line as far as he could see. Should he go through? Then he remembered.

"_The wolves listen for signs from CloudPack," Sharppaw had said while they were running. "I've never been to CloudPack, but a kit in my clan had."_

_Sunpaw had pushed ahead to run by the tabby. "What clan are you from? You never told us," she had mewed._

"_ShadowClan," Sharppaw answered with a flick of his tail. "My mother, Tawnypelt, is Brambleclaw's sister; that's how I'm related to Bloodpaw."_

_Bloodpaw ran to Sharppaw's other side. "Tell us more about CloudPack, brother," he had panted. "What had the kit said it looked like?"_

"_He said there are clouds that form a strait line for their border. He also said that the clouds reminded him of fluffy bushes." The tabby slowed his pace so as to not loose his breath. "Their territory smells of berries and flowers, so he thought they were harmless or peaceful. He never saw any wolves because he woke up too early."_

Bloodpaw jumped. He was standing on the border between StarClan and CloudPack! Shivers surged through his small tabby body. Moonpaw's scent was the only thing that forced them out.

He sniffed the air. She had been here not too long ago!

With all his strength, the young brown apprentice bolted into the cloudy bushes. They didn't make a single noise as he ran through. The clouds brushed against his fur making a static-like shock go through him. He jumped out and landed a few tail lengths away. His fur hurt from the strange bush and so did his paws.

Every inch of his body hurt. His head felt numb and his tail started twitching in rhythm with his heart.

Moonpaw's scent came again, stronger this time. He sighed. Bloodpaw had always loved her spicy scent. But this was slightly different. It was mixed with water and blood.

He jumped forward and darted through the cloudy trees and bushes. Each burned so he decided to jump those.

Howling rose from the forest. One, two, tree, four. They were howls of pain! Another more high-pitched howl: five.

At the ninth howl, he reached a small clearing. Clouds surrounded the clearing but these clouds glowed. They lit up the wolves in the clearing.

A familiar black wolf stood, panting, in front of a group. The group of wolves were cloudy; their pelts were dulled by the clouds that flowed from them.

"What about the tenth life?" a brown wolf beside the black one barked. "You gave me ten, now Moonpaw gets ten!"

Moonpaw?! That's who the black wolf was. She lifted her head. The moon shaped scar shown on her face.

"It is not us who will give you your tenth life, but a kin of you," barked a pale silver wolf. It sat at the front of the others.

"One of my kin? But the only kin I have are cats!" Moonpaw's growl was as if being a cat was bad.

Bloodpaw flinched away from his sister. Either her wolf form was possessing her, or they convinced her that cats are bad.

"He's here. The one that will give a living life to you," the silver wolf barked. By the sound of its voice, it was most likely a female.

As he looked back, he noticed a tortoiseshell wolf looking at him. He shivered. The flare seamed to paralyze him.

"Where?" Moonpaw suddenly barked.

The tortoiseshell jumped in the direction of the bush and landed only paw steps away from Bloodpaw. "He's here!" the wolf called in a deep voice. "But he's in cat form…" After a heartbeat of hesitation, the wolf grabbed Bloodpaw's scruff.

Now Bloodpaw could move. He twisted in the wolf's grip, but couldn't get to it. Even with all his might to turn, he couldn't move to attack the wolf.

"Bring Bloodpaw out, Fourseasons," the silver wolf barked. "He will know what to do."

Fourseasons nodded and was suddenly in front of Moonpaw. The black she-wolf wasn't shocked by the speed at all; as if she were use to it.

He placed the tabby at Moonpaw's paws. Then, with a single leap, he was back at his original spot behind the silver she-wolf.

Moonpaw smiled down at her brother. "So," she barked. "You are going to give me my tenth life?" Her brown eye shined brighter than her yellow eye.

A laugh escaped Bloodpaw. "Guess I am." He looked closer at his sister.

Her sleek black fur was covered in darker markings. She was a tabby wolf. Her eyes were the same soft brown and yellow, but the scar made her scarier. Lean muscles rippled through her body; sticking out over her legs and shoulders.

Bloodpaw almost gasped. She was stronger than she had been when she first changed. But her temper…it was terrible. Maybe that could be the tenth life!

He breathed deep, and let it out. One the tips of his paws, he reached up to touch noses with her. Moonpaw bent down and touched her nose to his. Her eyes closed in a flinch, but she didn't move.

"With this tenth, and final, life," Bloodpaw began. "I grant you a good temper. Use this so as to not get mad at your cl- pack to easily. Train your pack with this so as to make them stronger faster."

Moonpaw dipped her head to her brother. "I will, Bloodpaw. And I promise to treat all members of HowlPack as if they were all a part of my family."

Bright clouds – ten of them – floated around her. Four of them were absorbed into her legs, one in her forehead, two on her back, one of her tail, and one of both of her forepaws. Where each cloud flew into her fur, a marking appeared. It was white and shaped like, either, a fang or claw.

"From this day forth," the wolves spoke. "You will no longer be known as Moonpaw of ThunderClan."

The silver she-wolf stepped forward. "Your name shall stand for the scar on your face." She looked back at the other wolves. They had all stopped speaking to look at her.

Fourseasons snorted. "What do you mean, Shimmerfang?"

"Why do we always give Alphas the name of 'fang'? Why not name her Moonscar?" Shimmerfang tilted her head to one side.

"No!" a reddish wolf stepped forward. "You know the reason for naming Alphas 'fang'! Shimmerfang, you should know that especially since you use to be Alpha Female." The reddish wolf swung his head toward Moonpaw. "From this day forth, you will be known as Moonfang, Alpha Female of HowlPack."

The other wolves, including Shimmerfang, howled out her name. This was like when apprentices became warriors, or when kits were given their apprentice name. Bloodpaw joined in on the chant. He felt like he belonged here.

Moonfang howled too and the two wolves next to her did, too. She nudged the brown male and he pushed back.

"Congratulation, Moonfang!" he howled.

"Thanks Stormfang! I can't believe I'm an Alpha Female!" her howl rose above the others. "Thank you all! And thank StarClan and CloudPack that I was in this prophecy."

All the howling stopped. They were looking back at Moonfang.

"If I hadn't of been in the prophecy, then I wouldn't have met all of you!" She licked Stormfang's check and continued. "I've never thought of wolves as caring animals, but they are. Almost as caring as cats."

A different surge sprang through Bloodpaw. It felt as if he was being prodded. He shook, but it didn't go away. The pushing feeling continued until the clearing became bury. All of the colors of the wolves mixed together until it was all black.

Bloodpaw's eyes shot open. He was awake.

Sharppaw stood next to him. "You okay? You were yowling 'Moonfang' in your sleep…"

9


	5. New Alpha Female

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 5**

**New Alpha Female**

Moonfang's eyes shot open. The light from the MoonStone had faded; not a single spot was glowing. Sunlight burned through the roof of the cave. Was this actual sunlight or the light from the night before? She got to her paws and padded out.

Stormfang and Shimmerfang were sitting outside the cave. Stormfang looked tense for some reason, probably because of the dream with CloudPack. He nodded to Moonfang as she walked out. Shimmerfang, too, nodded.

"Greetings young Alpha Female," she barked.

Moonfang simply nodded and touched nosed with her. She wanted to purr, but remembered she was a wolf. The purr came out as a playful growl. It made Shimmerfang laugh, and Stormfang snickered.

The rest of the pack was sitting before her. Dawnwolf and Cinderflame sat near her, smiling. Their tails were twined again. She just knew that at least one of them liked the other!

A few fox lengths away were Snowflake and Raindrop. Snowflake glared at Moonfang, but Raindrop smiled and dipped his head. Snowflake saw this and flicked him with her tail. He growled and tried to glare at Moonfang.

A gray she-wolf was sitting next to a blue wolf. It was Bluesun. He was trying to pull away, but the she-wolf just wrapped her tail around him and pulled him closer. A white she-wolf, smaller than them, nudged Bluesun and he switched places with her.

Moonfang smiled. She couldn't get mad at them. Because of Bloodpaw's life, she wasn't going to get mad at them easily. If only Stormfang had that life. He was glaring at the gray she-wolf.

"HowlPack," Shimmerfang howled. "My life grows shorter with every second!" The smaller pups gasped. "But you have a new Alpha Female. Moonfang is another cat that was changed into a wolf by our Alpha Male!" Her howl rang out high-pitched and clear. She sounded years, or centuries, younger than she was.

"You can't leave, Shimmerfang!" two pups barked. One, a female, was a bright blue/purple and the other, a male, was brown. The brown pup wined. "I know that Stormfang can finish my training, but what about Lunacoat?" He looked back to the she-wolf.

Her bright blue eyes shown bright. "Yea? There were barley enough Hunters at first, but with you gone… And this she-wolf only knows cat moves!" she slightly growled.

Moonfang smiled at Lunacoat. "I can learn with you, Lunacoat." Her fur pricked with a hidden frustration, but she couldn't shout at the pup.

Lunacoat snorted. "A cat can't learn wolf moves. Stormfang isn't even very good at training Wavecoat and Magiccoat." Her tail flicked the brown wolf at the name 'Wavecoat'.

"Well, I can learn anything. Besides, I'm probably younger than you. I'm only six moons old." Moonfang smiled at her again.

"Six suns?! I'm eight suns! I'm older than my Alpha Female!" Lunacoat jumped up and ran around the clearing. Her blue/purple pelt flashed past the gray she-wolf, but her tail was stepped on.

"Calm down, Lunacoat!" the gray she-wolf snapped.

Lunacoat growled and pulled free. "Bluesun doesn't love you anymore, Emeraldeyes! I'm not you pup anymore!" She stalked over to a large group of pups and sat down.

Wavecoat followed her to sit closer to a silver she-wolf. He growled in Emeraldeyes's direction before looking away.

Moonfang tilted her head to one side. "What's going on between them?" she barked to Stormfang.

Stormfang snorted. "Emeraldeyes and Bluesun _were _in love. Deeply. And Bluesun dumped her for me. Bluesun is different from the rest of us, and so are his pups. He was Second in Command of MoonPack, so he's a werewolf." The brown Alpha Male licked a light patch of fur on his chest. "Because he had pups with a Demon Vampire Wolf, the pups become slightly stronger during full moons. It's still unstable, but they are pretty strong."

He then flicked his tail at a blue pup that looked like Bluesun. "That is Bluecoat. He is the strongest Short Fur we have. Oh, by the way, Short Furs are apprentices." He smiled and pointed to a white she-wolf.

The white she-wolf was still sitting between Bluesun and Emeraldeyes. "That's Lightcoat. She is very smart and finally knew than Bluesun had fallen in love with me. So she broke the news to Emeraldeyes. I'll tell ya, you've never heard a wolf howl in anger like that." He snickered slightly.

His tail flew to Lunacoat next. "Lunacoat is very hyper. She loves to mess with Hunters and the Old Ones. Sometimes, she will hide the prey under an Old Ones bedding, and they would lie in it." He laughed again.

Now he pointed to a bright blue and green she-wolf. "That's Magiccoat. She's my Short Fur, but so is Wavecoat. You and I are both training Wavecoat by the way. But Magiccoat has a special power. She can make anything she wants levitate."

"The dark gray wolf is Soulcoat. She also has a power. She can take control of almost anyone's body to make them do anything she wants." He shivered as if something had happened before. "She can also read every thought that has ever run through their head."

Wavecoat was the next. He sat a little separate from the others. "Wavecoat is very smart. He is right; it's hard for cats to learn wolf moves. I still can't get them right."

"Last is Mooncoat," he now pointed to a bright gray she-wolf that had a yellow eye and brown eye. "We thought she was going to be Alpha Female since she was born with the different colored eyes. But once she started walking and barking, we knew it wasn't her. She speaks backwards. It's kind of weird."

He took a deep breath before barking, "Those are only Emeraldeyes and Bluesun's pups. The others are normal Demon Vampire Wolves."

Moonfang shivered. These wolves are all so different.

Shimmerfang nudged the new Alpha Female. "You still have to do something, young she-wolf." She placed her tail on Moonfang's back. "You must hunt with Bluesun and Dawnwolf."

_Hunt?! _She had just gotten this body and they want her to hunt! _Mousedung! I'm going to be even clumsier than Icepaw!_

"I don't know who Icepaw is, but you can't be that bad." Dawnwolf and Bluesun were at her side. The brown and black wolf smiled. He was very easy to get along with.

She smiled back.

Bluesun was pawing at the ground, His fur stood out, but she didn't know if he was scared of anxious. His ears were back and head was lower than hers. Now Moonfang noticed all of the wolves doing this. They were sitting, or standing, with their ears back and heads low. The standing ones had their tails between their legs. Stormfang and Shimmerfang were the only ones that didn't have their tails between their legs.

"They are showing you respect, Moonfang," Dawnwolf barked. He started pushing the Alpha and blue Hunter toward the camp entrance. "Let's hurry! If we are lucky, DawnPack will attack!"

All three padded over the small hill, Moonfang in the lead, and out into the forest. The scents of prey were different than the ThunderClan forest. Other animal scents lingered that made her mouth water. Darkness was surrounding her since there was no light that could get in through the tree tops.

Dawnwolf and Bluesun stood close to Moonfang as if they were protecting her. She tried speeding up slightly, but they stuck to her sides.

"We have to be careful," Bluesun growled. "DawnPack and MoonPack can only come out at night, or in complete darkness." He glared around with his bright green eyes.

"Yes, they could attack at any second. That's how we lost Mercuryflight," Dawnwolf added. His tail lashed until they reentered into the light.

A few fox lengths in front of them, a lush rabbit bolted from a bush. Moonfang jumped at the rabbit, crushing its small body under her weight. It didn't even have time to shriek before she snapped its spine.

"That was great!" Dawnwolf howled. "Too bad it's only a rabbit." He snorted and pushes passed them. "Follow me, we are hunting deer today!"

The name, deer, sounded both familiar and unfamiliar. She had no clue what it looked like and really wanted to find out. She ran with Dawnwolf and Bluesun after she buried her rabbit.

They reached a small clearing that was covered in nothing but grass and bushes. A large group of animals – maybe ten or fifteen – were huddled in the middle. The animals reminded Moonfang of horsed, but they were too small for that. A few smaller ones, a brighter female and darker male, bounded outside the group. They had a darker stripe going down their backs and white spots.

One, the female, tripped and started whimpering. The darker one stopped chasing her and ran over. He poked her leg with his nose, and she yipped. She pulled away from him; almost kicking him.

"The deer that just fell," Dawnwolf barked; "is the one we are attacking." He forced his body down so that he was level with the grass. Bluesun copied him and was lying next to Moonfang.

When she pushed herself down to the grass, it felt like her body was melting. She looked down and saw her paws dissolving into her shadow. A strange feeling pulsed through her paws. She liked it. Her mind focused on the feeling and her entire body melted into her shadow.

Everything looked dark now. Light was were the shade must be, and everything had a blue tint to it. Only shadows were where Dawnwolf and Bluesun had been. She looked out, but didn't see the deer. Her body jumped forward to land exactly where a shadow of a deer was. She looked at it closely: It was bigger than the shadow a few tail lengths away which meant it was lying down.

The other shadow seamed to stiffen and ran off toward a larger group of shadows. The other shadows started struggling; it knew she was there! She bent down as if going to bite the deer and sunk into the shadow. Her head shot out of the shadow again, but now she was in the light again and the deer was screaming in terror.

With no hesitation, she changed into a shadow again and bit down on the deer's neck. Her body seamed to cover the small body of her prey. With a snap, the deer was dead. _That was awesome! I hope Dawnwolf and Bluesun saw that! _She was suddenly behind Dawnwolf and Bluesun.

The two wolves jumped around, staring at Moonfang. They saw the deer and cheered. "Awesome catch!" both wolves howled at the same time.

Dawnwolf pushed his head into her side. "You rule, she-wolf!" he barked. His tail reached up to flick Moonfang's ear.

The blue wolf barked in laughter. "That deer didn't see it coming!" he howled. The two wolves laughed together. "Let's get back," Bluesun panted after he stopped laughing. "This fawn should be enough"

"Wait!' Dawnwolf barked. "How did you get over here so fast? Even we aren't _that_ fast."

"I was thinking about you two and then I was over here." Moonfang barked with a flick of her tail.

"Try it again," Bluesun growled. He then pointed to a tree with his muzzle. "Think about being in the tree."

Moonfang blinked. That tree was huge! If she went too high, she could fall. But the branches farther down were flimsy. One branch that was right above Dawnwolf seamed sturdy enough. She closed her eyes and imagined herself sitting on the branch and smiling down at her two Hunters. After several seconds, she started feeling like the ground disappeared. She opened her eyes and she was sitting on the branch.

"Whoa…" Dawnwolf breathed. "You can teleport!" He jumped up onto a branch above hers. The only other HowlPack wolf that could do that was Fourseasons!" Dawnwolf howled again. "Fourseasons is a-"

"I know who Fourseasons is," Moonfang interrupted. "I met him when I got my ten lives."

Dawnwolf narrowed his eyes and nodded. "You've also met Sunfang, my father."

"I did? I don't recall hearing 'Sunfang' spoken among CloudPack."

"He was the ginger wolf that named you."

Moonfang was suddenly on the ground again. She had teleported and was kind of getting use to it. She shook her head. Dawnwolf was really cool. Especially his power.

Then she remembered Bluesun. Didn't he have a power? She knew most of the HowlPack wolfs' powers, but did Bluesun have one? Stormfang had said that Bluesun was a MoonPack wolf, so was that any different?

"Yes it is," Dawnwolf barked. He jumped down from the tree and landed, lightly on his paws. "Bluesun is a MoonPack wolf, but he only has the same power as them; nothing more. During full moons, he will become larger in size and a lot stronger." His ears pointed toward a half moon that hung in the sky. The sun still was up, but was slowly sinking now.

Moonfang was confused. What kind of power was that? "What do you mean? I mean, what is the power? Are they a breed of wolf?"

"Yes, actually, they are. They are werewolves." Dawnwolf smiled. He loved being smart.

Moonfang snickered. She then bowed down with her head touching the forest floor. "Yes know-it-all! You know…all!" she laughed at her own joke. Dawnwolf and Bluesun joined in the laughter.

"And you heard about Stormfang being my mate, right?" Bluesun barked.

Moonfang nodded, smiling.

"Well, there is a thing that all werewolves have. It's called imprinting. When I saw Stormfang, I imprinted on him. So if I loved someone before, I wouldn't anymore. And that's the whole reason I joined HowlPack." Bluesun smiled down at his Alpha.

Dawnwolf shivered. "Um… we got to go. Now!"

Bluesun looked up at Dawnwolf. "What's wrong?" he barked.

"Darkfang!" The brown and black Hunter bolted from under the tree and into the forest.

Bluesun and Moonfang ran after him. Moonfang had pulled the deer onto her back before following. They ran past the buried rabbit and into the dark forest.

"What's going on?" she barked. "Who is Darkfang?"

As if on cue, a loud roar rang out above them. The beating of wings came closer and closer. It was behind them! Moonfang looked back only to see a huge lizard-like creature following. She shrieked and skidded past them.

Dawnwolf and Bluesun skidded to a stop. Moonfang stopped too. She looked back at the two Hunters, but they were facing Darkfang.

The large creature came to a hover in front of them. He then landed and roared again. His scales were a cloudy black because of the shade of the trees. Dark red eyes flared strait past them and to Moonfang; lips curved back to reveal bloody teeth. Two large black wings curved under his body; sending dirt up and into the wolfs' fur.

Moonfang jumped past them and landed in front of the dark monster. This was Darkfang; the terrible dragon that Shimmerfang saved Sunfang from? This was a dragon? How could a small wolf like Shimmerfang defeat a large animal like this?

She gathered her strength into her hind legs getting ready to leap. When she did, her body twisted so that she ran in the opposite direction. Her tail flicked both Hunters on the chest and they followed her in a retreat. She wasn't going to have two wolves and an untrained half-breed go into battle!

Her claws dug into the ground pushing her faster through the forest. Darkfang mustn't have taken his wings out from under him because a loud thudding was following. Her mind was focused on the path, but a loud roar from the dragon behind her caught her off guard. One of her forepaws tripped over a tree root and she flew to the side of the path.

"Alpha!" Dawnwolf and Bluesun howled together. They ran to her side and turned to fight the coming dragon.

"No! I'm fine. We need to get back to camp!" She got to her paws and noticed the deer ha fallen off. Bluesun had already taken it and was waiting for Dawnwolf to turn and follow them. He finally nodded and they ran through the forest again.

Light flashed through the trees and the familiar hill that entered camp came into view. Moonfang pushed forward and jumped into the camp with Bluesun and Dawnwolf flying in behind her. They landed next to the freshkill pile. The deer that lay across Bluesun's back fell off and onto the pile.

Shimmerfang was lying on a rock speaking with the Old Ones. She stretched, and jumped down. Her paws landed lightly next to the freshkill pile; she smiled at them when she saw the deer.

"You did well, Alpha," she barked. "Did you catch this by yourself?"

"Yes, along with a rabbit," Moonfang barked quickly. "But Darkfang is in the forest! He tried attacking us!"

"What?!" Shimmerfang jumped back, shocked. "He never comes out during the day! And we are safe here because of the sun. DawnPack can't come into sunlight." She smiled.

The roar came again; closer this time. The whole of HowlPack came into the clearing. Wavecoat was with a silver pup and Lunacoat was following Magiccoat and a yellow male pup. Emeraldeyes gave Moonfang a glare before she dragged Bluesun, by his tail, a few fox lengths away. Dawnwolf and Cinderflame fled to the rear of the Hunters to cut the Short Furs off incase there was a fight.

Moonfang growled. She remembered seeing her brother in her dream. So badly had she wanted to say that she loved him, but something in her made her stop. She also wanted to say "I'll come visit you," but then she remembered that she wanted Willowpaw to think she was dead. Now maybe she will die, and it won't be a lie anymore…

7


	6. Hidden Pack of Twilight

Blood of the Tiger

**Ch. 6**

**Hidden pack of Twilight**

Moonfang growled again. Light above them was fading and fast. The roars from the dragon faded into a loud barking. More of them were following the dragon. Darkfang stepped out into the open. All of the light was gone now, and Darkfang was no longer a dragon. His body was small and furry now. Nimble, but so fragile. Thin muscles ripped at his pelt straining not to slice him open.

He let out a howl of laughter. "Such a small pack you have, Shimmerfang. And who is the scarred one?" His red vision flashed back to Moonfang.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to be seen. Her body accepted the shadows around her until her eyes started glowing white under them. the shadows were covering her body making her fur look like the wolves of CloudPack. Her new muscles burned in her and, like Darkfang, were trying not to tear her open.

"So strong…yet clumsy. Shimmerfang, I thought that a beautiful, smart she-wolf like yourself would choose a smarter Alpha Female. Maybe a full Demon Vampire Wolf and now a cat!" He spat at the black Alpha Female.

Moonfang growled again. She was getting mad? Maybe the temper was only for her pack. Her claws were already unsheathed and it hurt when she tried to unsheathe them like she would do as a cat. She visibly flinched when the pain struck.

"Don't worry…" Stormfang breathed. "I still do that a lot…"

She half smiled to him. He really was sweet, even if he didn't have Moonfang's temper; she was growing use to being around him. Her eyes flew back to Darkfang when he howled. It was different from the howls of these wolves; more high-pitched and hollow.

Two wolves jumped out from the tops of the trees. One was a white female with bright yellow eyes. They glared down at Moonfang and Stormfang with a slight anger; as if she were mad at them. Yellow markings were slashed across her body and her mane lay to one side down the center of her back.

The other stood taller than Darkfang. His pelt was a dark brown, almost black, and he had black eyes. Moonfang couldn't tell who he was glaring at, but she guessed it was either Shimmerfang or Stormfang. He growled, ready to attack.

Darkfang flicked his tail. "Not yet, Midnighthowl. Let us speak with the new Alpha." He glared, again, at Moonfang. His teeth glistened with the same fierceness as his dark red eyes.

"Yes," the white she-wolf barked. "Let's _talk _with her!" She growled and raised her tail.

Moonfang's tail shot up instantly. She looked back at it, confused. Why did her tail shoot up? Her ears stood up and she growled at the white wolf. It couldn't be helped; it was almost as if something was making her do this. Stormfang and Shimmerfang were growling, too. Their tails were just like Moonfang's and their ears stood up.

"Ha!" the white wolf laughed. "Two kittypets and a wolf! _What a challenge!_" she laughed louder.

Darkfang snickered with her. With a flick of his tail, he barked, "Attack." Both wolves shot into the clearing. A light covered the she-wolf as she dashed past Moonfang. They were fast!

She stopped with the light sparkling off her fur. Two large wings grew out of her back with the same yellow marking covering them. Her tail flicked back and forth until a spike came from the tip. It was covered in blood, dripping even, and four more covered her tail. Her paws grew larger and so did her claws. She growled in pain twisting her body in any direction that something changed.

Midnighthowl smiled at her. "You haven't seen anything yet, Alpha!" he barked at Moonfang. "Change faster, Lightstalker!" he growled. His teeth started growing. They stuck out of his mouth in an odd fashion; going in different directions. A single horn shot from his head, spitting blood through the clearing. His legs stretched and his body started getting larger. One of his toes disappeared and three large claws flashed out. His tail was shorter than the rest of his body, and his black eyes were now white.

Darkfang's paw steps sounded behind her. Moonfang turned around and came nose to nose with the black wolf. His red eyes glared into Moonfang's yellow and brown eyes. He smiled and, with a flick of his tail, sent the she-wolf flying across the clearing.

She felt her back snap when she hit a rock wall on the side of the clearing. Her body hit the ground weakly. She couldn't feel anything! Her entire body was paralyzed! Darkfang was powerful! Even more than she could have imagined… Her eyes slowly started closing, but nothing happened. She could still hear the fight going on.

Stormfang's howl rose above the rest. But he wasn't fighting. "Moonfang!" he howled again. He was running to her. "Moonfang, I know you're alive! Wake up!" His voice sounded demanding, but Moonfang failed in getting up. All she gave was a twitch.

"Bloodfur!" Bluesun howled somewhere near the entrance. "Moonfang needs you!" She heard him yip and crash to the ground. Moonfang needed to help her pack! She had just become Alpha Female; she couldn't let her pack down already!

A new scent washed over her. It smelled of berries and moss; almost like Leafpool and Jayfeather. Her eyes gradually opened, but she gasped when she saw the red wolf in front of her. The wolf's eyes were a strange yellow; almost glaring. Her fur was a crimson red.

"Easy young Alpha. Your spine is broken." Her tail ran across her black fur a lot softer than Moonfang thought she would have. She then hit the spot where it was broken and snapped it back into place. It didn't hurt, but there was a sharp tingling where it had been broken.

She instantly stood up. "Thanks, Bloodfur," she barked. Her paws then carried her over to where Bluesun was. He struggled against a dark gray she-wolf with markings on her face and back.

Her teeth met the she-wolf's neck pulling her off. The wolf howled in surprise when she turned around and saw the new Alpha. She grabbed Moonfang's front leg and flipped her over. Moonfang growled and kicked at the she-wolf's stomach, kicking her off.

Stormfang and Bluesun slammed into the she-wolf's sides. She coughed up blood and slashed at Stormfang. Her teeth met Bluesun's muzzle and they rolled around the camp. Stormfang grabbed her tail, starting to drag her over to the entrance.

Midnighthowl jumped at Moonfang, but missed. He landed a few fox lengths away, shaking. His huge muscles seamed just like Darkfang's; like they wanted out from under the fur. He jumped, again, at Moonfang.

She stayed still and aloud him to grab her. She then turned and grabbed the back of his neck. With a tug, she ripped the wolf off of her. She then threw him into the white she-wolf, Lightstalker. They landed side by side in a daze.

Midnighthowl fled the camp covered in blood, but Lightstalker stayed behind. She growled at Moonfang, yellow eyes blazing. She jumped at the black she-wolf, throwing her off balance. She landed under Lightstalker glaring up into her yellow eyes.

"Piece of fox-dung!" she howled before grabbing Moonfang's throat. Moonfang kicked out at her stomach but all it did was make Lightstalker pull at her throat. She yipped, unable to do anything.

Her mind felt like it was fading. But it was her body! She smiled up at Lightstalker. The she-wolf didn't notice anything was wrong until Moonfang disappeared from under her. All that Moonfang could see was Lightstalker's shadow below her.

The world was blue again; cold. She shivered. It felt like she was walking where the dead live. Shadows flew across the ground, but these showed with markings. Lightstalker's shadow was dashed in yellow swirled markings. Stormfang's shadow was swishing past others; his had cloud-like brown patches.

Moonfang breathed. She glared down at Lightstalker's shadow and reached down to bite her. The light of day shot into her eyes as she reentered the normal living world. Lightstalker's neck met Moonfang's teeth in an instant and she sunk them in.

She yipped in surprise and fled; fear streaming from her pelt. As she entered the darkness of the forest, her pelt glowed and she changed into a twoleg. Her yellow and white fur ran to her head and she was wearing a white pelt with a blue line at the bottom. It flared out at the bottom, and there was a small gap between the top piece and the flared out bottom.

Moonfang jumped at a yellow she-wolf that was fighting Bluesun. Her fur was pelted in yellow markings. She stood over Bluesun growling in pleasure. "And you can yourself the mate of the Alpha Male… Only strong wolves mate with the Alpha! And aren't you male?" She howled in amusement.

Moonfang rammed into the she-wolf's side. "Paws off, mouse-dung!" she growled to the she-wolf's face.

Bluesun jumped up. "Thanks," he barked. Then he grabbed the she-wolf's tail and dragged her from under Moonfang. He twisted her in the air and threw the she-wolf across the clearing. "What were you saving about me being weak?" he growled.

"Oh!" Stormfang howled a few fox lengths away. "You got burned, Lightingflash!" He barked in pain when the ginger wolf he was fighting grabbed into his hind leg. Stormfang kicked back, hitting the wolf in the stomach.

A solid black wolf rammed into Moonfang's side. He growled; showing his strong muscles as he stood over Moonfang. "Don't let your guard down, Alpha!" he growled in her ear. His teeth ripped her ear, sending pain through her head.

She kicked at the black wolf on top of her. He jumped back; bleeding from his stomach. Her back paws were covered in blood; they must have slipped strait through his fur. Moonfang jumped at the black wolf and bit his neck. His blood flowed over his fur and soaking into Moonfang's mouth.

He howled in pain. Pulling away from Moonfang, the black wolf ran out of the clearing; a pink she-wolf on his paws.

"Yea! You better run, Fairywing!" Firestorm howled.

"And never come back, Blackpanther!" Bloodfur growled to the black male wolf Moonfang had chased out. Her bloody colored pelt spiked out. Did she have a personal quarrel with him?

Stormfang ran to her side. "Are you okay, Moonfang?" he barked; compassion in his eyes.

Licking her pelt, she answered, "I'm fine, Stormfang." She looked around the clearing. She was fine, but she couldn't say the same for the others. Most of the wolves in the clearing were either missing limbs, or just lying on the ground.

Dawnwolf and Cinderflame were sitting over by the entrance. Dawnwolf was missing his front leg, but there was no blood! His leg was completely dry or all blood. When she looked closer, she saw the leg was regenerating slowly. Cinderflame's tail touched Dawnwolf's and then their tails twined together.

Moonfang sighed. She wanted a relationship like they hid, but the only one she loved was a cat. A lot of the wolves here had mates, some even had pups. The only Hunter that didn't have a mate was Emeraldeyes, but she had had a mate. At least she had someone that loved her.

A tail rested on her shoulder. She turned to find Shimmerfang. The old she-wolf's eyes were paler than they had been when the fight started.

"Are you okay?" Moonfang barked.

"Fine. And you?" Shimmerfang barked back.

The new Alpha dipped her head, telling her that she was fine. Stormfang barked to her before he ran to her side. His tail rubbed against her side as he passed. Moonfang's fur felt hot for a second as Stormfang stopped to lick her cheek. Did Stormfang like her? She shook the thought away. She loved one cat! And that was Willowpaw!

"…you see Lunacoat, Wavecoat, and Magiccoat?" Stormfang was barking. "They fought like Hunters! I think it's time for them to become Hunters along with their den mates."

Shimmerfang growled to herself. "But I have to leave soon. My time here is coming to an end…"

"What about Moonfang? She could give them their Hunter names."

Shimmerfang shook. "No…" she breathed. "She doesn't know the wolf ceremony yet."

"You could teach her!" Stormfang growled. "I've been teaching Magiccoat and Wavecoat for two moons! They know enough already! And plus…" He glanced at Moonfang. "I need to train her to become a Hunter. She had just started her warrior training when we took her."

Shimmerfang nodded. "I guess you are right. It's better I teach her now so that, later, she doesn't just shoot for it." Her tail flicked, signaling Moonfang.

************

The bright moon shown brightly above camp. Moonfang stood up on the large rock that led to the MoonStone. Now she knew it as Shattered Rock. "All wolves old enough to kill a deer, gather here below the Shattered Rock for a Hunter ceremony!" Her voice rang out through the camp.

Wolves soon stood under the rock, eyes gleaming. The seven Short Furs; Mooncoat, Wavecoat, Soulcoat, Magiccoat, Lunacoat, Lightcoat, and Bluecoat; sat at the base of the Shattered Rock, pelts glistening.

Moonfang cleared her throat. She was nervous. Stormfang jumped to her side to howl his part. "We are getting new Hunters!" The pack howled in joy.

Now they both spoke, like their minds were attached. "Since you are already sitting below us, let's get this underway." Moonfang jumped down, landing softly next to Lunacoat who sat on the end. Stormfang landed at Bluecoat's side that was at the other end.

"Do you; Mooncoat, Wavecoat, Soulcoat, Magiccoat, Lunacoat, Lightcoat, and Bluecoat; swear to serve your pack, HowlPack, with you life?" Moonfang barked.

All of the pups nodded. "We do."

Stormfang glared at them. "Do you swear to stay loyal to your pack?" he barked softly.

None of then shook. Instead they answered again with, "We do."

Stormfang flicked his head to Moonfang. "You already chose good names," he barked. "You go ahead."

Moonfang nodded. "Then by the power of both StarClan and CloudPack I, Moonfang, Alpha Female of HowlPack, give you your Hunter names." Her tail rested on Lunacoat and she walked down the line of Short Furs, speaking their names as she went. "Lunaray, Lighttooth, Magictail, Soulreaper, Waveteller, Moonsky, and Blueclaw." Her tail brushes Moonsky's chin as she passed.

The pack cheered out their names. They hadn't even noticed that she said StarClan _and _CloudPack. Stormfang was right when he said they wouldn't notice.

Magictail jumped up. She was obviously happy about being a Hunter. Soulreaper growled at her and tripped the she-wolf. Lunaray barked happily and ran over to the other Hunters. The others split off to bark with everyone.

Stormfang was at Moonfang's side. "Want to grab some fresh-kill with me?" he barked beckoning to the large pile in the middle of camp.

Moonfang nodded. "Sure," she barked. They grabbed the deer she had caught and dragged it to the edge of camp. So far, things were good. But what about ThunderClan? Were they doing fine without her? Did Willowpaw miss her and was she happy with Crowpaw? She had to visit them soon. After Shimmerfang died, then she would take a patrol and go see her home.

*************

Moonfang stretched. She felt like she had slept on a rock that night. Her memory was fuzzy, but she did remember the battle with DawnPack. Then another memory shot back.

_Dawnwolf limped over to them. His leg hadn't returned fully, but he was able to walk. "Hey, Moonfang," he had barked. "Want to go hunting tomorrow? Or we would go on border patrol."_

_Moonfang barked happily, "Sure! And I'd love to go on the dawn patrol! I want to check out DawnPack's side of the border and remark it." She snapped a deer bone in her mouth._

_Stormfang had laughed. "Okay, but you have to get up early, Moonfang."_

"_I know that! I'm going to get some sleep." She had gotten up and padded to the cave under Shattered Rock._

Stormfang slept in the back beside Shimmerfang. Their fur was mixed together as they snored. Moonfang smiled and bolted from the den.

Dawnwolf, Cinderflame, and Soulreaper were standing out there already. Cinderflame waved with her tail. "Come on, Alpha!" she barked quietly. "We are leaving!"

Moonfang jumped in front; flicking the blue she-wolf's nose. "I'm leading, Hunter!" she snickered and padded ahead of them.

Dawnwolf was sniffing the air for any signs of DawnPack. Nothing seamed to have crossed the border since last night, and Moonfang was itching to catch something to eat.

"You can eat when we get back to camp, Alpha," Dawnwolf barked half amused.

Soulreaper sighed. She started scenting the air too. Her eyes shot open suddenly. "New scent!" she howled. "It smells of forest and herbs!" The dark gray she-wolf bolted through the underbrush in pursuit of the scent.

Dawnwolf, followed by Moonfang, chased after her. Cinderflame ran back to camp to warn Stormfang. Moonfang crashed ahead of Dawnwolf and stopped next to Soulreaper.

There, in front of them, was a bright red she-wolf. Her eyes shown angry and vicious. A black and brown male wolf stood beside her. Two white bone-like stripes flowed over his back and he had a skull on his forehead. His brown eyes glinted through the eye holes of the skull.

"Who are you?" Dawnwolf growled. He must already know the answer, but didn't want to say it out loud.

The fiery she-wolf growled. "I'm Firefang," she growled.

The black dog growled the same, but in a deeper voice. "Dawnfang…" His eyes shot to Dawnwolf.

"'Fang?" Moonfang barked. "What pack are you from?"

Both looked at each other before answering. "TwilightPack."

7


	7. A New Clan

**Ch. 7**

**A New Clan**

Bloodpaw yawned, boredom tugging at his pelt. It had been two full days since they left camp and they still hadn't found HowlPack territory. Sharppaw had lost the wolfs' scent the day before, telling them he had no clue where to go. _Did he really loose the trail, or was he keeping them from Moonfang?_

The tabby had also told them of his dream with Moonfang, but none of them believed him. He only kept out the part about giving Moonfang her tenth life.

"I'm telling you, I really saw her get her Alpha name!" Bloodpaw finally meowed. "I even met Stormfang, Shimmerfang, and Fourseasons!" The brown tabby's mind filled with memories of the three wolves.

Sharppaw was over by a bush sniffing for prey. "Sure," he snorted. "And I'm a fox."

"Then you better run, fox! I'm telling the truth!" Bloodpaw insisted flicking his brother ear with his paw.

"Just stop, Bloodpaw." Sharppaw's gaze became a hard glare. "You didn't see CloudPack territory. It was just a dream!" Then he turned and started away.

Sunpaw hissed. "I believe him!" Her tail twined with Bloodpaw's. "What if he really _did _see Moonfang become Alpha Female?" Her amber eyes shown brightly at Bloodpaw. "And you said a _kit _saw the border! Why can't Bloodpaw?"

The tabby's fur felt hot again. _But what if it was just a dream?_

Sharppaw glared at her, but it quickly changed to a smile. "If a kit saw it, then _maybe_ Bloodpaw could have."

Bloodpaw smiled. _Should I tell them I also gave her a life? _He shook his head. If he said that, then they wouldn't believe him again.

Growling came from Willowpaw. It was the closest thing to speaking from her since the sun had risen. Her pale green eyes looked to them. With a flick of her tail, she mewed, "Want to hunt?"

Sunpaw nodded and bound to her side. As if reading her mind, like Jayfeather does, she placed her tail over Willowpaw's shoulders. "Don't worry. Just because they made her Alpha Female, what ever that is, doesn't mean she will forget you."

Willowpaw's fur spiked out. "I'm not worried about that!" she hissed, swiping a paw at Sunpaw. "I know that she won't forget! But I don't want her to leave…"

Bloodpaw shivered. She had the same fear as the brown tabby tom. Willowpaw didn't want to loose her love, just as Bloodpaw didn't want to loose his only friend!

"I feel your pain," Bloodpaw breathed. "I know how close you were to her. She was, after all, my sister and she shares her feelings with me." His red eyes closed. I had been a few days since he spoke of Moonfang like that.

Willowpaw sighed. "Oh well. We _will _find her and bring her back!" With that, Willowpaw and Sunpaw dashed over to a near by forest. The brown and gray tabby was smiling and laughing as they ran. For once, in the past two days, there was no sign of sadness in her eyes.

*********

The sun had started going behind the trees before Willowpaw and Sunpaw returned. Sunpaw had caught a thrush and sparrow, and Willowpaw had two mice. They made a small fresh-kill pile so they wouldn't have to hunt the next day.

Bloodpaw and Sunpaw shared the thrush, while Willowpaw and Sharppaw dug into one of the mice. Willowpaw helped Bloodpaw burry the bones when they finished and they both padded back to the forest to talk.

The forest seamed darker than usual; a hint of fire hung in the air. Bloodpaw stopped in front of a tree that was entirely covered in moss. He ripped at a piece and signaled to Willowpaw.

"This tree has moss on it! We can use it for bedding!" he exclaimed. "Do you think Sunpaw and Sharppaw would sleep on it?" A squirrel past them, but they ignored it.

Willowpaw felt the moss with her nose. "It _is _soft. I bet Sunpaw would sleep forever on it if she could!" She laughed.

Bloodpaw frown. Her laugh seamed different from earlier. Was she hiding something? The brown tabby flicked his tail. "Are you okay?

"Yes, fine. Why do you ask?" Her mew came too quick.

The brown tabby glared at her. "You are hiding something. What did you find on your hunting patrol with Sunpaw?" Bloodpaw shivered. He was talking like a leader.

"Hunting patrol?" Had Willowpaw noticed too? "You are talking as if you lead us. Like we are a clan." Yes, she realized it. "All thought… Can we be a clan while we are out here?" Willowpaw sounded excited.

Bloodpaw smiled. "Okay, but only if _I'm_ deputy!" His eyes flashed in amusement.

"But I thought you could be leader? Bloodstar does have a certain ring to it."

"No! You are leader, Willowstar."

Willowpaw jumped back. "Me?" she gasped. "Then can I choose the name?"

"Sure," Bloodpaw mewed.

"Hmm…" Willowpaw paced. "Oh, and I didn't see anything on the hunting patrol. Just worried I guess." The brown and gray she-cat continued pacing.

Bloodpaw grabbed some moss from the tree. "Let's talk about it back at _camp._" He dropped some moss at Willowpaw's paws and grabbed some for himself.

***********

Sunpaw ran to his side and grabbed some of the moss. She made half a bed and beckoned for him to help. Bloodpaw helped build a nest big enough for two; him and Sunpaw. Willowpaw pushed some moss into a smaller nest for herself and gave the rest to Sharppaw.

Sharppaw yawned. "The idea of making us a clan for now is kind of fun. Who is leader again?"

"Me!" Willowpaw meowed.

Bloodpaw stretched. "And I'm deputy."

Sunpaw looked to Willowpaw. "Have you chosen a name yet?" Her eyes sparkled into the night.

Willowpaw shook her head. "It's hard to choose a name. I was thinking WinterClan, but it reminded me of RiverClan." Her head fell to her paws. After a few heart beats, it shot back up. "StormClan!" she yowled.

Everyone looked at her. "StormClan?" they all mewed.

"Yea! Don't you like it?"

Sunpaw smiled. "Love it, Willow_star_!"

Sharppaw and Bloodpaw purred at the ginger apprentice. Bloodpaw's bright red eyes shined at her. "It's perfect," he mewed to Willowpaw. "For apprentices, we sure are acting like a small clan."

Sharppaw purred louder. "True! I thought we wouldn't last a day and that I would have to bring at least one dead body back, but you guys are pretty strong." His tail flicked Willowpaw's ear. Was he falling for the gray and brown she-cat?

She merely flicked it away. Her heart was, obviously, only big enough for one. Her green eyes were shining now, and not pale in any way. "Let's get some sleep. We are setting off again tomorrow." Her head fell to her paws again.

"Giving orders already," Bloodpaw mewed. "You are going to be a great leader…" His eyes closed and he buried his face into Sunpaw's honey scented fur.

*********

Sunlight beamed down on the four apprentices. Willowpaw shifted in her nest; kicking Bloodpaw's head. His eyes shot open. He was stiff from sleeping curled up. He usually slept alone and on his side.

Sunpaw nuzzled her head further into his side; Bloodpaw purred. He licked her forehead waking her up. "Sorry," he hissed. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Sunpaw purred. "It's okay, I was about to wake up anyway." She stretched and sat up; licking a paw and bringing it over one of her ears.

Sharppaw sprang up. His claws dug into the hard earth and he looked around the small clearing suspiciously. "We need to go…" he hissed.

"Why?" Willowpaw yawned.

"We aren't alone." His green eyes flashed at a bush. "Willowstar, get over here and stand with me!" he hissed.

Willowpaw stood up, glaring. "Last I checked, Bloodpaw was deputy, not you." But she listened anyway; her claws dug deeper than his and her fluffy tail shot up. Bloodpaw and Sunpaw dashed to their side, growling at the bushes.

"Sorry," a tom meowed, "didn't mean to frightn' y'all." He was a black tom. His shoulders were large with muscles and yellow eyes sharp. The voice that came from his mouth was the opposite; sweet and soft.

"Yea," meowed a black and white tom next to him. "Frightenin' kits is the last thing on our minds." His green eyes shown brightly. The muscles that rippled through his fur weren't as strong, but still visible compared to the ThunderClan cats.

Sunpaw growled. "Who are you calling kits?! We are apprentices!"

Bloodpaw laid his tail on her back. "They don't know what apprentices are; they are just loners." His bloody eyes glared back at them.

"Loners?" the black and white tom meowed. "We are former clan cats." His tail flicked to the black tom next to him. "This is Ravenwing and I'm Mintfrost."

"I'm from WindClan," Ravenwing meowed.

"And I'm from RiverClan. We ran away because we couldn't face the fact that we would fight one day…" Mintfrost lowered his head to look at the ground.

At the same time, both cats smiled. "We are twin brothers," they moth said. "Both of us were born black, and them one of us got white spots." Ravenwing flicked Mintfrost's ear with his tail. "Since we are twins and, thus, know each others moves, we decided to run away together and start our own lives." Both toms sighed.

Mintfrost looked up now. "We haven't been separated since."

Bloodpaw purred. _These two are just like Sharppaw and I, except they knew they were twin brothers. Sharppaw looks like me, is from another she-cat, but is my twin. _My eyes softened for the two; they had abandoned their clans just to be together. _Would I do the same for Moonfang?_

Willowpaw let her fur lie flat. "Why were you spying on us?"

"We wanted to see why a small group of apprentices were wandering around." Ravenwing mewed.

Sharppaw twitched, would he tell them? Willowpaw stepped forward to tell them, but Sunpaw batted at her tail. Sharppaw glared at her for a second before turning back to the two toms. "We are looking for a friend. That is all we will tell you."

Mintfrost scratched his ear with his tail. "Do you mean that black wolf that came by a few days ago? She seamed uneasy with the wolves and Stormfang." Ravenwing brushed Mintfrost's side with his head.

Sunpaw growled. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," they both meowed.

Bloodpaw glared. "Okay, the whole 'talking at the same time' thing is annoying. Can you stop?"

They looked at each other for a long moment. Ravenwing's eyes seamed to glow along with his brother's. "Nope," they both meowed. "We do this stuff by accident a lot. Actually, all the time."

Bloodpaw and Willowpaw snorted. "What ever," they breathed together.

The black and white tom smiled again. "We can help you find HowlPack! Ravenwing knows where it is." His black tipped tail flicked Ravenwing.

He smiled, too. "Yep, I found it by accident one day. Very nice wolves, they are." His eyes seamed thoughtful. "Come!" he called. "This way!" They both bolted into the bushes; the apprentices following. They bushes pushed them in; but it opened up quickly into a pathway. The stale scent of the wolves, and Moonfang, hung in the air. They were on their way! Moonfang was going to see her clan mates again!

5


	8. Training Short Furs

**Ch. 8**

**Short Fur Training**

Dawnfang and Firefang sat by the fresh-kill pile sharing part of an elk with Emeraldeyes, Bluesun, and Firestorm. The TwilightPack wolves had followed them to camp, curious of how they lived. They hadn't shut up since they met!

Moonfang growled low enough that no one heard. Her thoughts were filled with hatred for the two wolves. They had just come into their camp and started eating their food! Her growl grew slightly, making Bluesun look over at her. He got up and ran to her side.

His blue tail lifted Moonfang's head. "Are you okay?" he barked.

"Fine!" Moonfang snapped. "Sorry… just a little pissed right now." She glared over at the two wolves.

Bluesun smiled. "They will leave soon. But, since they are here, why not talk to them? They are telling us of TwilightPack and how they live." His eyes turned hard. "I just wish Emeraldeyes would leave me alone! She keeps rubbing against me…"

The black Alpha growled again, but not at Emeraldeyes. She was still mad about TwilightPack. But if Bluesun wanted Emeraldeyes gone for a while, then so be it. "Emeraldeyes, Snowflake, Lighttooth, and Lunaray; please come here!" she howled.

Emeraldeyes looked up, glaring, from where she sat by the elk. Her tail brushed Bluesun when she came over. Lighttooth and Lunaray bound over from the other Short Furs dragging Snowflake by her tail. They sat in front of their Alpha and bowed their heads.

"What is it, Moonfang?" Snowflake growled.

Moonfang smiled at them; eyes closed. "I would like you to go and see if DawnPack have left our territory. Patrol by DawnPack, and MoonPack if you can. If MoonPack have heard about the fight, they might think we are vulnerable to attack."

Lighttooth looked to her mother than to Bluesun. Her eyes lit up and she nodded. "We will patrol them both twice and reset the markings, Alpha." She knew what was going on.

Lunaray nodded kind of getting it. "Yea! We might even hunt a little." The patrol padded out into the forest.

"Be careful, my pups!" Bluesun called to his pups.

"We will!" Lunaray and Lighttooth called at the same time before bounding into the forest.

The blue Hunter bowed his head. "Thank you, Moonfang…" His paws carried him over to Stormfang. Their heads rubbed and tails twined together as they padded over to the two TwilightPack wolves. Stormfang smiled over at Moonfang before laying his head on Bluesun's paws.

If Moonfang could purr, she would. Watching the two male wolves reminded her of Willowpaw and her. They both had acted the very same way around each other; tails twined, laying on each other, even sleeping in the same moss bedding. Moonfang sighed and licked her black pelt.

A small bark came from Moonfang's side. She looked over and saw a smaller male wolf. His ginger eyes sparkled up at the Alpha Female and he smiled. "Hi!" he barked. "I'm Thundercoat! Um…Alpha, I wanted to show you my hunting skills! Both me and Silvercoat want to show you!" He smiled.

"Shouldn't you be showing your trainer?" Moonfang barked back.

"Yea, but Emeraldeyes is out in the forest. Remember, you just sent her out!" The yellow wolf laughed.

"Oh, so that gray demon is your trainer?" Moonfang barked in surprise. She hadn't expected that gray she-wolf to have a Short Fur.

Thundercoat nodded. "She is my trainer, but she isn't very good… All she does is talk about her pups and Bluesun! Sick!" He pretended to gag and started laughing again.

This pup seamed big enough to be a Hunter, but Moonfang would have to check. "Okay. Go get Silvercoat and you can show me at your training grounds."

"Oh yea, I forgot you were new. We have to go to Blood Forest to show you." He smiled again and bound over to a silvery she-wolf, most likely Silvercoat.

Moonfang snorted playfully toward the pups and bound over to Stormfang. "Hey, I need your help. Thundercoat and Silvercoat want me to check if they are ready to become Hunters. Can you come?"

Stormfang looked over and smiled. "Sure! I love watching them show me their moves!" He jumped up and flicked Bluesun. "Come, we are going to watch some Short Furs show themselves!" He nipped Bluesun's ear before bounding across the clearing.

Bluesun growled, playfully, to himself. "Stormfang hasn't changed since he was a kittypet," he barked.

"Stormfang was a kittypet?!" Moonfang growled under her breath.

Bluesun looked to her. "Yes, you never knew?"

Moonfang shook her head.

"His name was Jaden when he was a kittypet. His twolegs always let him wander around and he stumbled upon ThunderClan one day." Bluesun beckoned Moonfang to follow him out of the camp. He continued as they followed the Alpha Male. "He was chosen by CloudPack many years ago to lead HowlPack. I think the prophecy was 'A great storm will rise over and take control of HowlPack with a blue flamed sun at its side.'" He sighed. "I can't remember, but I think that was what it was."

---Listen to the moon---

Stormfang bounded further and further ahead into the dark lit forest. His brown fur lit up in a false light showing the trees around him. Thundercoat was running at his side with Silvercoat a few paces behind. Her silver fur lit up with the same false light as Stormfang's, but it was somehow brighter; as if water were flowing over her fur and reflecting the only light protruding the forest.

Firestorm was in front of Moonfang with her tail up. "This way, now," she spoke softly. "I can't wait to see my Short Fur in action." Her mixed fur sparkled in the dim lighting.

"How long have HowlPack lived here, Second in Command?" Moonfang barked.

"Please, call me Firestorm; and for decades. I still remember when my grandfather told me of when his grandfather had even battled with large scaled animals. They called them Lizards just like what we call snakes and other scaled creatures." Her red eyes flashed. "And one of the Killer Lizards took my grandfather's grandfather away. It snapped him in half and he couldn't regenerate."

"Sorry…" Moonfang murmured. "Have you ever seen them? The Lizards I mean."

"Oh, no, that was long before I was changed into a wolf." She laughed and continued on in silence.

Stormfang, Thundercoat, and Silvercoat had disappeared into the darkness moments ago, leaving the others in total darkness. The faint glow of Stormfang and Silvercoat's fur was all that was seen; bouncing as they ran further into the forest.

"You said you were changed into a wolf," Moonfang barked after some time. "What were you before? A cat?"

Firestorm looked back. "No. I was chosen by CloudPack to be Second in Command and help the future moon raise the pack from dying." She licked her mixed fur. "I was a bird before this and Shimmerfang changed me into a Vampire Demon Wolf I am today."

"You were a bird?!" Moonfang howled in surprise. "But I thought that wolves- Demon Vampire Wolves were born not made! Was everyone in the pack made?"

"Not everyone." Her red eyes turned pale. "Bluesun and Emeraldeyes's pups were born and so was Dawnwolf. Dawnwolf was born a few days after his father died…" She lowered her head to an almost bowing position. "Let's hurry; they are probably wondering what is taking us so long!" Firestorm jumped ahead in an impossible speed.

Bluesun smiled and beckoned Moonfang to follow her. She nodded and jumped ahead; listening closely for Bluesun's paw steps behind her. They ran over the forest ground in amazing speeds before stopping a few moments later in a bloody clearing.

"Blood Hollow I presume?" She was flicked by Bluesun saying yes.

The hollow was beautiful. Everything was stomped down in the center of the clearing where there might have been either many seasons of training, or a fight. Rocks were stained in red blood that seamed fresh, but was obviously old. It looked as if the blood was molded into the rocks themselves; and the trees too!

Large red trees towered over head. The leaves on each tree were bright red and sparkled like fresh blood on a white pelt. On some branches were no leaves, except one single leaf that hung to the very tip of the branch. It looked like a blood drop ready to fall and splash with the rest that have fallen before.

"Has it always been like this?" Moonfang asked.

"No, it use to be green and healthy," Bluesun barked. "When MoonPack attacked HowlPack because I joined, it was stained in Werewolf blood." He sighed. "Let's watch your moves, Short Furs!" he howled.

Thundercoat jumped up and sat in front of Bluesun. Silvercoat was at his side in an instant. "What should we do first, Bluesun?" Thundercoat barked.

"How about a Dragon Flip?" He suggested.

"Dragon…Flip?" Moonfang barked, confused beyond all belief.

"Yea, they jump up and do a back flip. I can't explain it, you have to just see it," Firestorm barked from beside Moonfang. "Silvercoat, you attack Thundercoat with the Dragon Flip."

Silvercoat barked saying she heard. She turned toward Thundercoat ready to attack. "Now?" she barked.

"Yes, you can attack now."

She pushed off the ground in a quick dart toward the ginger Short Fur. When it looked like she would ram him, she pushed off the ground and jumped up; curving her body into a back flip. She was now in mid air in front of the ginger Short Fur and he was swinging out to hit her paws, but there was nothing there. Silvercoat seamed to fly over Thundercoat and then pushed down with her forepaws on his head. Her back legs pressed on his haunches and sent him flying across the clearing.

Thundercoat howled in surprise as he was sent flying between two red trees. "Nice one!" he called.

"Yes," Firestorm barked, "just as we practiced!" She smiled at her Short Fur.

"Now," Moonfang barked. "I want Thundercoat to do something to really prove himself." She padded forward. "I want you to get a _cat _move right. If you use it in a battle it will surprise them because it's never been used before by a wolf."

Thundercoat spat. "I could do it! Show me what you got!" He lowed into a springing position and started wagging his tail.

"Okay. Stormfang, come here!" Moonfang flicked her tail for the brunette wolf to come over.

He bowed his head. "What do you want me to do?" he asked as he neared the spot Moonfang wanted him to stand.

"Try to hit me as I do this. Watch closely, Thundercoat! You need to get this right if you want to pass and become a Hunter with Silvercoat." Moonfang ran at Stormfang hurting herself, again, as she tried to unsheathe her claws. She jumped up and pushed on Stormfang's outstretched paw as he tried to attack Moonfang's paws. The leap carried her up and over the Alpha Male until she stood behind him; back legs still up. She kicked out hitting Stormfang's back legs and he fell into his side. The young black she-wolf jumped on top of him and fastened her mouth over Stormfang's brown neck.

Stormfang gasped. "I didn't know that move still worked even as a wolf! But you changed the end. Aren't you supposed to bite the enemy's leg and run or something?"

"Yea, it's was meant for badgers, but it worked for this too." She let got of Stormfang to look back at Thundercoat. "You try."

He spat again. "It's just a cat move! How can it be a use to me?"

"If I were an enemy, I would have killed your Alpha Male. Isn't that an advantage? And he knows cat moves which makes it better."

Thundercoat nodded. "Okay, I'll give it a try." He stepped forward. "Am I doing this with Stormfang?" His ginger eyes glowed.

"Sure, I'm not going to because I know what you are going to do and I'm a master at that move. I'd be able to stop you with a flick of my paw…" Moonfang sat next to Firestorm and Silvercoat.

Thundercoat's yellow fur spiked out. "You ready, Stormfang?!" he growled.

"Yep, bring it!" Stormfang snapped back.

The yellow Short Fur jumped over Stormfang almost as quickly as Moonfang had. His belly fur barely brushed the Alpha's back. In a flash, Thundercoat had kicked Stormfang's back leg and was already at his throat. A growl was emanating from him; trying to hide his panting.

"Good!" Moonfang howled. "You did great, Thundercoat!"

He looked up in surprise. His ginger eyes lit up from the approval his Alpha gave him. "Thank you, but I think I need improvement on it."

"True," Stormfang barked. His fur rippled with light as he got up and sat down. "You are both really good, but not enough to be Hunters. Maybe get a little stronger and you can be a Hunter by the next moon."

Thundercoat and Silvercoat snickered. "You are talking cat again," the silver-grey she-wolf barked. Her tail wrapped around Bluesun's foreleg. "You need to teach for mate to use only wolf talk around us." She smiled.

"It's harder than you think. With that brain, it might take another decade," Bluesun snickered to himself. Everyone joined in the laughter, even Stormfang.

"How about we get back," Firestorm suddenly jumped in. "The camp is unprotected and-"

"Cool it," Moonfang growled playfully. "If something happens, we'll know. Besides, Bluesun and Stormfang need to get away form camp. Shimmerfang told me last night that they never get any time alone." She smiled and flicked Silvercoat's ear. "We can go through the rest of the territory so that I can get to know it better."

"Good idea!" Stormfang barked. "And while you are g- wait… I don't have a small brain!" He tackled Bluesun but landed underneath him. Everyone laughed; Stormfang finally got the joke. "Do I seam dumb to you…?" he wined.

"What? No, you may mess around a lot and mess up sometimes, but you are still the smartest wolf in the whole pack. You lead by your heart, not your brain; which is a good thing." His blue fur seamed to glow a little red. "You have the biggest heart out of any other wolf I know, even Bloodfur's heart is micro compared to yours."

Stormfang's eyes lit up with the same light his fur had been using. "Really? You mean it?"

"CloudPack, kill me if I'm lying. Yes, I mean it." He licked Stormfang's cheek before getting off of him. "I'll take good care of the Alpha," he barked.

Firestorm nodded. "We'll be over in New Leaf Cave!" the tortoiseshell called over her shoulder as they bolted through the forest. They came to a large cave with a bright blue glow emanating from it. "This is New Leaf Cave, it can only be entered during New Leaf because of the stones in side it." They padded closer.

Moonfang sniffed at the stones. "Why are they glowing bright blue?" she barked into the darkness that lie behind the stones. A chilling feeling flowed from the cave forcing a shiver down the black tabby's back. The chill wasn't of fear, but of cold. The cold must have been coming from the cave; it was moons until Leaf Bare.

"They are called Season Stones, they change color and scent for each season. During New Leaf, they are bright blue and repel MoonPack and DawnPack. When Leaf Bare comes around, they are emerald green and hide any scents that may have entered the cave." Her head lowered and a slight growl loomed in the air. "We found out about this cave a few seasons ago, and found out about the stones' scents the second Leaf Bare. Our Second in Command then had come here and was ambushed by DawnPack. They killed him instantly…"

"That's terrible…" Moonfang murmured. "What was his name?"

"Fourseasons, why?" Firestorm looked up, confusion sparking in her eyes.

"F-F-Fourseasons?! I met him when I got my Alpha name!" Her fur was now standing up from tail to head. "Why was his name Fourseasons…? That's not a normal name for a Deputy."

Firestorm sighed again. "His name had been Mixedpelt, but since he was only Second in Command for four seasons, they named him Fourseasons." She shook her head. "Anyway, this is where Short Fur have to go before getting Hunter names; they come here the night before their naming ceremony."

"Do we come here tonight?" Thundercoat barked.

"No, not yet. You need a little more training like Alpha said." Moonfang had looked back at them. Their eyes had been full of hope, but that quickly disappeared. "Sorry, but you wouldn't be ready to even be made warriors. Speaking of warriors, I wonder how ThunderClan is doing without me…"

A tail rested on her back. "I'm sure they are fine."

"But ShadowClan had just attacked! Maybe RiverClan or WindClan will attack now that they are weak! They need me there…but HowlPack needs me too." Silent tears rolled down her muzzle and dripped to the ground. "And my brother needs me even more than the pack does…"

"Hey!" howled a familiar voice. "What are you doing by New Leaf Cave?" Lighttooth barked. Her white fur was ripped with yellow streaks now and her once bright blue eyes were flaring a bright yellow.

"We are showing Moonfang the territory, and why are you here? I thought you were going to check MoonPack and DawnPack," Firestorm howled back.

Lunaray's blue-purple fur flashed to her sister's side. "We already did that, now we are hunting. Why are the Short Furs here?" She smiled to her old den mates. "Are they going to go in New Leaf Cave?" Her bright blue eyes glowed in pride.

"No, we were training them." Moonfang answered. "Did you run into Bluesun and Stormfang while coming back?"

"Yes!" Emeraldeyes snapped. She had been standing back with Snowflake. "Bluesun and that _kittypet _ran off to check out Crystal Lake…" She growled and pawed at the ground. "Why was _Stormfang _with you anyway? Firestorm is Silvercoat's trainer, not him. And _I'm _Thundercoat's trainer!"

Moonfang jumped back at the sudden growl. "He came so that-"

"HE ONLY CAME TO STEAL MY MATE AWAY!" Emeraldeyes roared at the black she-wolf.

"SILENCE!" Moonfang howled. "Bluesun is no longer _your _mate! He is with Stormfang, not you! Get it out of you head that he is only pretending to love Stormfang, he loves that wolf with all his heart! Having pups with you was a mistake that he wishes he could take back, but he loves those pups, not because they were yours and his, but because they have a part of _him _in them!!!" The black she-wolf was now covered in shadows that were blocking out her entire body leaving red eyes that glowed through the darkness.

"Calm down, Alpha…" Firestorm whispered.

The shadows all retreated to their original places leaving the black tabby in all her rage. Her fur was spiked up in all directions and paws were almost bleeding from trying to unsheathe her claws. "I'd rip you to shreds if you weren't part of my pack…" She smiled. "But you are, so be gone. Finish with your patrol and I'll see you back in camp after I see the rest of the territory."

Silvercoat flicked her tail to lead them away. "I want to go to Supply Trail now!" she barked. "We could find some Catmint by the twoleg house near the end while we are there!"

They laughed at her persistence and followed her.

---Listen to the moon---

Once back at camp, with a few stocks of Marigold and Catmint in their mouths, the Short Furs started toward the Medical Den near the back of camp. Moonfang bounded over to Cinderflame and Raindrop. The two were sharing a small deer and talking about patrols.

"Yea, nothing is happening at MoonPack," Cinderflame was saying.

Raindrop nodded. "Nothing at DawnPack either, I think we scared them."

"With what we got, they look like pups!" Cinderflame laughed.

"How is the prey?" Moonfang barked.

Cinderflame nodded, half surprised. "Fine, thank you." She smiled up at her Alpha and continued eating. "Where were you, Stormfang, Bluesun, Firestorm, and the Short Furs?" she asked through a mouthful of deer.

"We were checking to see if they were ready to become Hunters," Moonfang sighed and lay down next to the crystal blue she-wolf. "Firestorm also showed me around the territory."

The black tabby across from them swallowed another bite of deer. "Where are Stormfang and Bluesun?" he barked.

"They went to Crystal Lake, so I couldn't go to see it," Moonfang replied with a huff.

"Crystal Lake, huh?" Cinderflame sighed. "I wish I could go to Crystal Lake…"

"With Dawnwolf?" Moonfang asked.

"No!" Cinderflame's fur radiated with heat. "Another wolf… maybe…"

"You want to go with Dawnwolf, I can tell. They way you two act around each other is like how I acted around my crush, Willowpaw." Moonfang smiled at the blue she-wolf.

"So, she's your crush?" a male wolf barked from behind them. Moonfang's yellow and brown eyes looked up to see Dawnwolf looming over her. "Now I know why I keep hearing that name in your thoughts." He laughed. "It gets annoying actually. 'Willowpaw, Willowpaw! Oh how I miss you, Willowpaw.'" He laughed again.

Raindrop and Cinderflame laughed with him.

Cinderflame's fur grew even hotter. "Hi Dawnwolf," she barked nervously.

"Baa," he barked doing the rainbow thing like before.

_Still a dork._ "And I mean it," Moonfang barked after thinking that.

Dawnwolf laughed again. "Yes, I'm a dork sometimes. But not as much as Stormfang. I just hope he doesn't think too much about when he did at Crystal Lake!" He flicked Moonfang's ear with his tail. "Come on, Cinderflame. I want to go hunting!" His black head make his bright green eyes seam to glow.

"Okay! I'm coming," Cinderflame barked and chased Dawnwolf out of camp.

Raindrop sighed. "Those two were made for each other." He ate the last piece of deer off the carcass and dragged it to a corner of the camp. There were other bones there and a body or two, but not much else.

"What do you use those for?" Moonfang barked. "We burry out remains near herbs so that they grow more."

"Huh?" Raindrop barked. "Oh, the bones are saved for Bloodfur so that she can make splints and use them to stitch large wounds together." He stretched and sighed as Snowflake entered camp. "I've got to go… have a good night, Alpha!" He bounded over to his mate only to be greeted by a loud growling.

Emeraldeyes stalked over to the Old Ones and lay down next to Mindfreeze. His bluish fur mixed with her as he leaned on her.

Stormfang and Bluesun padded in a few moments later leaning together and tail twined. The brown Alpha licked Bluesun's cheek and half skipped toward Moonfang. "Let's get some sleep," he said smiling wide. His light brown tipped tail waved to Bluesun and both Alphas entered the Shattered Rock cave.

Shimmerfang lay in her moss bed and was already sleeping, breathing deeply and twitching once in a while. The two new Alphas lay in their moss bed, which was big enough for both of them to fit.

"Good night, Moonfang," Stormfang yawned, more tired than normal.

"Good night, Stormfang…" Moonfang murmured.

50


	9. Blind Sight

**Ch. 9**

**Blind Sight**

Bloodpaw stepped into the moonlit clearing. Long grass blew through the moor and seamed to make a path to the forest at the other side. Like before, clouds were making a large line that flew across the trees and looked like bushes.

"CloudPack…" Bloodpaw hissed.

A sweet voice sounded behind him. It sounded younger than a normal StarClan cat and wise at the same time, as if the cat had been a live for a long time. Bloodpaw turned to come face to face with a blue/gray she-cat with bright blue eyes.

She smiled and laughed as he jumped back a few feet. "Greetings, Bloodpaw." Her meow was filled with sweetness that could almost match Leafpool's. "It's nice to finally meet the recreation of Tigerstar."

Bloodpaw gasped. "T-Tigerstar? But he was evil! And who are you?!" the tabby's tail shot up and fur was spiked out.

"I'm Bluestar; ThunderClan's old leader. I died trying to save Firestar's life from a pack of dogs. My sacrifice was the only thing that kept ThunderClan alive." She purred to herself before continuing, "Just wish I was alive to see Scourge kill Tigerstar."

Bloodpaw shook his head. "You're the old leader? But you look too young to have been a leader!" Red eyes glared into peaceful blue ones.

Wind flooded the bright clearing with a weird sense of safety and happiness. "Thank you for that compliment, Bloodpaw. I was a lot older when I lived, but joining StarClan makes you younger." She dipped her head slightly. "How is your journey?" she mewed after a few seconds.

Bloodpaw half growled. "Fine. We are almost to HowlPack, according to Mintfrost and Ravenwing." He licked his spiked fur flat again before sitting down.

"Good, but bad at the same time. Darkness is looming in the forests, young Bloodpaw. His wings can kill you with one sweep without vampire powers." Wise blue eyes sparked in fear for the young tom. "You must be careful. If you aren't careful, one or more of you may join StarClan."

"What do you mean darkness? Are you talking about DawnPack?" Now the tabby tom was on his paws again, fur spiked once more.

Bluestar turned away. "I can say no more. You must go to CloudPack now before Jayfeather finds you."

As she spoke his name, a gray tabby was slinking through the tall grass. His belly was flat on the ground and paws moving ever so slowly as if he were stalking prey. Bloodpaw's eyes widened and he bolted toward the forest.

"Wait!" Jayfeather yowled and ran after him. "I need to know where you and the others are!"

Bloodpaw didn't speak and jumped forward into the forest. His paws pushed off a tree and made him fly further into the forest than he anticipated. With a loud thud, Bloodpaw landed right in the center of the cloud-bushes. They burned more than usual, but it felt good.

He continued into the clouds and felt somehow bigger. His paws covered more ground and tail seamed to get shorter. As he stepped out of the bushes, he saw that his fur was new, too! It was dark brown with red bloody stripes! The stripes were where his old ones had been, but seamed to drip down his pelt and under him like they would fall to the ground.

Hearing light paw steps behind him, Bloodpaw thrust forward into the forest. The amazing speed shocked him, but he continued at the same speed until he came to a tree that was a few hundred fox-lengths away form the bushes. His red eyes narrowed at the bushes just as a small grey tabby figure jumped out.

Jayfeather looked around expecting to see Bloodpaw, but stopped. "Huh? I saw him come to this exact spot! He's not that fast." The grey tabby licked a forepaw, turned around, and padded back through the bushes.

Bloodpaw snorted and jumped back through the bushes. Ahead was the clearing from before and had all the same wolves. He jumped into the clearing growling.

The grey she-wolf from before stood there, not shocked at all. "You have arrived, Bloodlust," she barked. "We have been expecting you and your clan, StormClan." She dipped her head.

"Who are you, and my name is Blood_paw!"_ The brown fur on his back spiked up strait with the striped areas down slightly. "Where is Moonfang, how is she a wolf, and why did you say you were expecting me?!" His growl rose to a low-pitched howl.

The same tortoiseshell wolf from before, that had grabbed him, stood up growling. "You watch you mouth, kittypet!" he growled.

The grey she-wolf shot her tail up and at the tortoiseshell. "Silence, Fourseasons." Her ice blue gaze settled on Bloodpaw once more. "I'm Shimmerfang, retired Alpha Female of HowlPack. There was a prophecy long ago that said 'When the special Shimmer fades from HowlPack, the bright full Moon shall replace it'. This is our reason to take her; she is the Moon that shall replace me."

Bloodpaw growled again. "Why couldn't you take a different Moon? Don't you have a Moon in HowlPack?"

Shimmerfang nodded. "Just Moonsky. She has the different colored eyes, but not the scar as of your sister." Her fur became slightly clearer and a little more fog surrounded her.

"The scar? What does that have to do with anything?!" Bloodpaw snarled.

"All will be revealed, Bloodpaw," a purple she-wolf barked. Her mouth was black and bright blue eyes sparkled under a thick layer of fog. "Right now, you should be getting back to your clan, they worry for thee."

Bloodpaw stopped growling. His bloody eyes were settled on the purple she-wolf and her wise words. Dipping his head, Bloodpaw bounded back through the forest and to the bushes. "Time to wake up," he barked and pushed through the bushes.

Lights faded in. Bloodpaw was lying on his back in a small patch of sun. His head ached as it lifted from the warm grass. Several gasps and sighs of relief surrounded him.

"We thought you were dead!" Mintfrost meowed. "Are you okay?" His bright crystal eyes reminded Bloodpaw, slightly, of that purple she-wolf in CloudPack.

Sunpaw, lying by his side, looked up when Bloodpaw sat up. "How do you feel?" she mewed.

Bloodpaw smiled at her. "I'm fine. Now, we need to get moving, but can we stay in the lighter parts of DawnPack?" His worried red eyes seamed to frighten the others.

Ravenwing, sitting a few tail-lengths away, glanced over his shoulder at the tabby. "Sure, any particular reason?" His long black tail twisted with his brother's for a second and then returned to his side. "Are ya'll…frightened about DawnPack?"

"No!" Sunpaw hissed. "Bloodpaw fears nothing! Not even death can pierce his nerves!" Her orange tabby tail twined with Bloodpaw's tabby tail.

Willowpaw bristled slightly. "It was just a question, Sunpaw…" she growled calmly but with enough force to make even Bloodpaw shiver. "Now, calm down. Maybe he wants up to be safe. Is that right, deputy?"

With a quick nod, Mintfrost and Ravenwing lead them into a dark forest that was at the edge of where they'd camped. The sounds of the forest seamed eerie but fit somehow. There were only one or two patches of light where the cats stopped to rest, but other than that, there was complete darkness.

Bloodpaw stopped for a full couple of heartbeats in the second patch of light they came too. His breaths were coming in deep gasps and body was shaking in fear. Every creek that was heard sent Bloodpaw three fox-lengths in the air and strait to another light patch.

"What's with you today?" Willowpaw meowed. "Did you have a bad dream about DawnPack?"

Sharppaw spat. "He's scared of a big lizard." The brown tabby pushed past Bloodpaw and continued easily into the dark forest. His paw steps were as if he knew where he was going; odd since he was from ShadowClan.

Bloodpaw bounded after his brother and stalked ahead of him. Sure, maybe the brown and white tabby was trying to annoy Bloodpaw, but he wanted to prove he wasn't a scared kit.

After a while, a loud roar filled the forest. Bloodpaw bolted strait to a light patch, fur spiked out. Out in the forest was a dark shadow. The shadow looked like Moonfang, but he didn't want to take the chance of it being some rouge wolf.

Sunpaw bolted to his side and hissed, "Who is that?" At her meow, the shadow looked to them with bright red eyes.

It was defiantly a wolf. The wolf had a scale-like underbelly with spikes in its head, shoulders, and tail. As it padded forward, the wolf stopped by the sunlight. He growled against the brightness, but stepped in anyway.

"What?!" Mintfrost and Ravenwing yowled. "You shouldn't be able to come in the light, Darkfang!" The two cats jumped back away form the wolf.

Darkfang let out an evil howl of laughter. "I've grown stronger, kits," he growled to the twins. "Now…why are you in my forest?" His voice was sinister, yet welcoming at the same time.

"None of you busyness!" Sunpaw hissed at the black wolf. "Why don't you go whimper to your Alpha!" Her fur stood up on end

Darkfang glared at the small orange she-cat. "You dare speak to _me_ like that?" he growled. "I'll shut that trap so quick that you won't have time to yowl in pain!"

"No!" Bloodpaw jumped in front of Sunpaw and felt something hit him. The vision of Darkfang running into the tabby remained in his mind, but he could feel his body flying through the air and into the darkness.

"Bloodpaw!" Willowpaw yowled. There was now fighting. Bloodpaw's eyes wouldn't open no matter how hard he tried. Was he dead? No…Bloodpaw was still breathing.

A paw prodded his side; forcing his eyes open. "Sharppaw…?" Bloodpaw moaned.

"Come on, bro, get up. Don't let us down now." The green-eyed tabby smiled before jumping at a white she-wolf. "Die, Lightstalker!" he half howled.

"Howling…from a cat?" Bloodpaw mewed.

Mintfrost and Ravenwing were battling with Darkfang. Mintfrost's black and white body was flashing all over the black lizard-wolf while his brother slashed at his scaled underbelly.

"I'll help!" he called to them and jumped for Darkfang's tail. The fur was hard, but Bloodpaw managed to bite through it to the core of his tail.

The black wolf jumped up and howled in pain. "Get off, vampire!" he growled while chasing his tail.

_His wings can kill you with one sweep without vampire powers. _Bluestar's words came back in his head. Darkfang had attacked Bloodpaw, but he hadn't died. It had merely knocked him out.

"I'm a vampire…" he murmured through the tough fur in his mouth. He released Darkfang and was sent flying yet again. Instead of closing his eyes and yowling, Bloodpaw pushed off a tree and strait at Darkfang. His head slammed into the dark Alpha Male forcing his to fall.

"You little pest!" Darkfang growled, but grabbed Ravenwing instead of Bloodpaw. "I'll kill you once and for all!" A loud snap was heard through out the forest followed by a sharp yowl of pure pain.

"Brother!" Mintfrost cried out.

Darkfang dropped Ravenwing's limp body to the ground. "Let this be a warning to you." Now his hard gaze fell on Sharppaw. "Why are you with them?" he barked.

All of the cats, excluding Mintfrost, looked to Sharppaw. "I joined to bring them to you, master." Sharppaw dipped his head to Darkfang.

"You…tricked us?" Bloodpaw meowed in disbelief. "You lied?!"

"Not really. I lied about being part of ShadowClan, but I am your brother." Sharppaw closed his eyes and a bright light surrounded him. His tabby fur became full black and two dragon wings extended form his spine. Blood oozed from his head where two neatly pointed horns emerged and settled nicely to fit the rest of his body without looking too big.

"Sharpeyes," the white she-wolf, Lightstalker, barked. "I didn't recognize you as a cat. You look pretty attractive…" she rubbed against the black tom when he padded to her side.

Mintfrost growled and backed away to the apprentices. "Run… We have to run. Sharpeyes and Lightstalker are an unbeatable team. We have to run!" The black and white tom pushed Willowpaw and Sunpaw before running himself.

After getting out of DawnPack territory, Mintfrost stopped by a tree to hide in it. They all followed and started morning the loss of Ravenwing and Sharpeyes. And to think they had trusted Sharpeyes so completely that they allowed him to lead them to HowlPack!

Bloodpaw lay his head down and closed his eyes. Maybe a dream from CloudPack or StarClan could clear up his confusion…

67


	10. Reunited

**Ch. 10**

**Reunited**

Moonfang yawned and padded from her den. The sun quickly warmed her black fur and made her blood feel like running again, but then she remembered she had no blood. Stormfang's brown figure slinked out of the den and stood next to Moonfang.

Every inch of his body was shaking, not in fear but in excitement. He spotted Bluesun and ran to the Werewolf. As he passed Dawnwolf, the black and brown wolf jumped back and howled in fake pain.

"The thoughts! They burn use all!" The black and brown wolf then ran into the Hunter's den and started kicking out dust to make it look like he was running around.

The whole of HowlPack started laughing because they knew what the Alpha Male and young Hunter had been up to.

Stormfang stuck his tongue out at Dawnwolf. "At least I have someone!" he joshed before running out into the forest with Bluesun.

As they left, Bloodfur and Oceancoat came into camp. They had bundles of herbs in their mouths, but the younger green she-wolf also had a few flowers held in her tail. She followed the red she-wolf over to her den and then quickly emerged and ran over to Silvercoat and Thundercoat.

"Why were you with tall, dark, and bloody?" Thundercoat barked.

Oceancoat giggled. "Bloodfur asked me to come with her to get some herbs."

Moonfang padded over. "Hey, Short Furs."

The three younger pups turned toward the dark Alpha Female. "Greetings, Alpha!" they all barked.

"I was wondering," Moonfang started, "If we are Demon Vampires, then why do we need herbs? I mean, we don't get sick or hurt do we?" Her brown and yellow eyes glinted with her question of her pack.

Silvercoat growled in laughter. "Of course we get sick, but our sicknesses are really bad."

"Yea," Thundercoat half howled. "Our oldest Old One, Sinflight, was taken away by Red Spit."

"Red Spit?" Moonfang cocked her head to one side.

Paw steps sounded behind Moonfang making the black tabby flash around to face who it was. Lighttooth smiled at her Alpha. "Red Spit is a serious virus for us. It makes you regurgitate anything you eat or drink. And when you don't eat, then you cough up the frozen blood in your veins."

"Great StarClan…" Moonfang cursed. "Have anyone else gotten it since Sinflight?"

Silvercoat shook her fluffy, silver head. "Nope, Sinflight was the last and first to get it. Bloodfur couldn't keep him alive long enough to examine it."

"That's terrible…" The black she-wolf was going to continue when a loud coughing was heard behind her. She looked back at the Alpha Den to see Shimmerfang coughing.

"Alpha!" Oceancoat and Silvercoat both barked and, followed by Thundercoat, ran to their old Alpha.

Thundercoat was the first to get there or course. He knelt down to try and get a look at her face but instead was coughed on. "What's wrong, Alpha?"

Shimmerfang stopped coughing long enough to look over at the younger Short Fur that she's coughed on. "I'm afraid that CloudPack is deciding to take me up now." She started coughing again, but this time, large chunks of something flew out of her mouth. Instead of splattering across the rock below her, it clashed and broke into little pieces like it was frozen.

The silver pup grabbed Thundercoat and dragged him back. "She has Red Spit!" Silvercoat howled as loud as she could.

The howl echoed across the clearing and, before it disappeared from their hyper sensitive hearing, Bloodfur was already there. The she-wolf didn't have any herbs because she was so unfamiliar with this virus that she hadn't known what to bring; instead, she had a small rabbit for Shimmerfang because they didn't want her to cough out their blood.

"Eat this, Alpha," she instructed.

Shimmerfang shook her head. "No, it's my time to leave. Besides, there is nothing you can do for this. CloudPack have already told me that I'm leaving." Her eyes turned pale as she faced Moonfang. "Please…with all your un-beating heart, take care of this pack. I was in HowlPack before we were mutated and I've lived here all my life…even after our recent Alpha Female, Citrusfang, died."

"I will…but I can't yet! I'm not even good with my powers! You can't leave, Shimmerfang…" Moonfang sobbed.

The silver she-wolf's body started getting skinny all of the sudden. Her fur seamed to loose all of its color and her eyes grew so pale that her entire eye was grey, and then it faded to white. "I…know you can…lead them…" Her head fell to the ground and fresh blood, frozen recently, fell from her mouth.

The wind blew as if taking her spirit away. It grew slightly and took the fur and meat off her bones. It took everything and left the skeleton behind. Then, when Moonfang thought it was over, rain started falling. With each drop to the dead Alpha's bones, they started disincarnating. When the rain stopped, the bones were gone.

All of the wolves, not including the Alpha Male and others who were out on patrol, started howling in sadness. A few were calling out Shimmerfang's name and saying to rest in piece. They then looked to the black she-wolf and bowed their heads to her.

"We know you can do this, Alpha Female," Sugareye barked. Her beautiful silver fur shimmered next to Dawnwolf's and Cinderflame's. It was weird; up till now, Moonfang had never noticed how much alike Dawnwolf and Sugareye looked. (Sorry if Sugareye isn't on the list. She's Dawnwolf's mother and Sunfang's mate.)

Dawnwolf looked up. "Don't doubt yourself, you'll do great. Just look at Stormfang; he's an idiot, but he still leads us better than anyone thought he would." His head bowed again showing his respect for the black tabby.

"No matter what Snowflake says," Raindrop barked. "I've always believed that you were going to do great, and I've been right so far." His head lifted in a joyous howl.

The other wolves followed and started chanting, "Moonfang, Alpha Female! Moonfang, Alpha Female!"

Stormfang, Bluesun, and the dawn patrol: consisting of Snowflake and Emeraldeyes, returned. Dawnwolf broke the news to them making them all howl in agony. Stormfang, of course, got happy quickly and padded to Moonfang.

"You really are an Alpha Female now… I'm so proud!" He licked her cheek and stepped back. "How does it feel?"

Moonfang hesitated. She wasn't sure how to answer. Her body was excited because she had power over a large pack of super wolves, but her mind was saddened by the death of a wolf she barely knew and she was also confused because wolves, related to dogs, use to be her enemy! How could she possibly lead her enemies!?

"It feels…empty. I don't know what to feel. I mean, wolves and dogs use to be my enemies, but now I'm leading you?" Moonfang started pacing to try and gain her composure. "I'm happy to be a leader, but I'm also sad because the previous lead- I mean, Alpha Female died. I just…don't know…"

Stormfang sighed. His light brown tipped tail rested on the black she-wolf's shoulders. "Hey, I know it's hard. I felt the same way when Sunfang died. And you know what, I was a cat too. I use to be a kittypet and I had to lead wolves." He smiled brightly. "And the pack has been fine. Don't be worried, you'll do great!"

Moonfang smiled again. "Thank you, Alpha Male. That really helped." She paced a few more times then stopped. "I'm going to go hunt with Bluesun and Oceancoat." She smiled to the brown Alpha Male. "You want to come?"

His head shook. "I'm tired from other stuff." A quick glance to Bluesun made the black she-wolf understand.

"Okay, I'll see you later then?"

He nodded. "I'll be in the Alpha Den when you get back." His paws carried him over to the Shattered Rock and he vanished into the den.

Oceancoat was barking with the other Short Furs when Moonfang called to her. She then called Bluesun and the small hunting patrol started out into the forest.

Oceancoat sniffed the ground cautiously. Her light paws carried her through the grassy path like it was water; not making a sound. Suddenly, her head whipped up and she growled. "There is something other than wolf in our territory!" she growled.

Bluesun immediately sniffed the air and nodded. "Smells like cats. You know the rule, don't kill unless attacked first." He continued on.

Moonfang stayed back. _Cats? Could it be…?_ She sniffed the air. The scent was familiar, but had another scent with it. There was also the faint scent of blood and…ThunderClan!!!

"Wait!" Moonfang howled.

The two wolves ahead stopped dead in their tracks. "What is it, Alpha Female?" Bluesun barked.

"This scent… it's really familiar to me." She started following it when she noticed she's picked it up on the air instead of a scent trail. Her speed increased until she ran into a tree.

A small yowl came from the tree and a bunch of shimmering eyes glared down at her. One set of eyes, bright red, caught her attention. They were glaring at first, but then started glowing with excitement. None of the other eyes did this; they all just glared and started growling.

"Moonfang?" one mewed in a voice that she had wanted to hear. It was rough and slightly shaking. Out of the tree came a smaller dark brown tabby tom. His red eyes looked up to her as if she were from StarClan. "Is…that really you?" he continued to mew.

A female voice spoke out now. "Bloodpaw, get back up here!" it hissed silently hoping that only the tabby would hear. "That is a stranger wolf!"

"No it's not…" he meowed back up to her. "Come on down, it's Moonpaw…"

One cat gasped and came down almost as if she'd fallen. Her fur was bright grey with brown stripes underneath. Brilliant green eyes glanced up into Moonfang's brown and yellow eyes. It had been the first thing she noticed and it made her smile. "Moonpaw?" she mewed so softly that only the wolves heard.

"Hey, Willowpaw," Moonfang barked back. She smiled and padded closer to the two cats. She lay down and placed her head softly on Bloodpaw's shoulders and then on Willowpaw's; making sure not to actually press down or let it go limp. "I've missed you so much…"

Willowpaw shivered under Moonfang's cold fur. "Why did you tell Bloodpaw to lie to me…?" she mewed. "I was really worried for you…I thought you'd joined StarClan…" The grey and brown tabby rubbed against the larger wolf bringing out her full affection for the wolf.

"I didn't want you to worry about me and do exactly this!" Moonfang got up, growling. "Why did you even come? This forest is dangerous! There are demons, wolves, and a lot of things that can kill you!"

Bloodpaw winced. "They wanted to see you again, and I thought they were torturing you…"

"Torturing? I'm their Alpha Female, mouse-brain!" Moonfang barked angrily.

"Hey!" A ginger she-cat jumped out of the tree with a tabby tail. "Moonpaw or not, don't yell at Bloodpaw like that!" She stood with her chest pressed out and fur fluffed making herself look bigger.

Moonfang hesitated in a response. "Sunpaw…you are being an idiot again…and it's Moon_fang _not Moonpaw."

The two wolves with her stood beside Moonfang. "Um…who are these cats? Why do you know them?" Bluesun barked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. These are my friend from ThunderClan. They are Bloodpaw, Willowpaw, and Sunpaw."

Oceancoat poked her head out from behind Moonfang. "And who is the black and white tom that looks really sad?"

The black she-wolf hadn't noticed him. "I don't know… Who is that?"

Bloodpaw sighed. "This is Mintfrost, he and his brother showed us to your territory. His brother's name was Ravenwing, but he's not with us because Darkfang killed him."

"Darkfang?!" Oceancoat howled. Her green fur spiked out in alarm at the name. "You fought Darkfang and lived?!"

"Well…" Willowpaw started. "We didn't really do that good. Bloodpaw did pretty well against him, but when Ravenwing was killed, we ran."

Mintfrost stepped forward now. His bright blue eyes were filled with sadness and regret. "Ya'll fight very well for apprentices… I'd say that ya'll were warriors our there today. But I wish Ravenwing were still here…"

Moonfang felt bad for the tom. He and his brother must have been very close for him to feel this bad. "Why don't you come back to HowlPack and relax? You can stay a few nights and then we can escort you home."

Bluesun nodded. "I just hope the others don't mind having to share some still-bloody food. They might not like that."

"Still-bloody? What do you mean?" Sunpaw mewed.

Moonfang snickered. "We are Demon Vampire Wolves, we drink blood and the Werewolves in the pack get the meat. I've learned to love it actually, but it feels weird to not have to eat."

Sunpaw gasped. "You don't eat your pray?! That's weird!" Her tabby tail shot strait up in alarm. "How do you survive?!"

"All we need to live is fresh blood, Sunpaw." Moonfang flicked her tail. "Come, I'll show you the way to camp…actually, get on." She bent down to allow a few cats on.

Sunpaw and Willowpaw jumped on Moonfang's back. Bluesun bent down also and got Mintfrost while Bloodpaw jumped on Oceancoat's back. He was almost half her size so it looked weird to have a small wolf carry a kind of big cat.

Back at camp, Moonfang showed them to the Alpha Den where the two wolves let off the cats. They all padded in making Stormfang jump when they entered.

"Why are there cats in here?!" he howled in alarm. "Wait…" he was looking at Bloodpaw. "You look familiar… I know! You were at the fight on WindClan territory! You are Moonfang's brother, Bloodpaw!" He ran over and grabbed the tabby.

Bloodpaw lashed out, missing Stormfang, and started yowling in shock from the wolf's speed. "Put me down!"

Stormfang shrugged and, while spinning, let go of the tabby making him fly across the den. He landed sideways on the wall and pushed off landing on his paws. "It's true!" Stormfang barked. "Cats always land on their paws!" He then started chasing his tail, and then fell asleep suddenly.

Moonfang sighed. "Crazy Alpha Male…" Her tail flicked showing them to one side of the den. "You can sleep here for now, it's Shimmerfang's old spot." When she started walking away, she stopped. "Shimmerfang was our old Alpha Female, but she died today, so I'm officially Alpha Female." Moonfang smiled and lay in her spot near the middle of the cave.

Her eyes closed and head fell to the ground. After several heartbeats, something curled up next to her. A small fluffy tail fell over her paws. Moonfang's eyes opened and she saw Willowpaw lying in front of her. A blush burned under her dark fur and she pressed her muzzle into the smaller she-cat's fur.

Willowpaw turned and rested her head over Moonfang's muzzle then drifted off to sleep. Moonfang, again, closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep with the one she loved lying on her muzzle. If only she were bigger…maybe a Demon Vampire Wolf! She'd ask Stormfang tomorrow if she could change the small grey and brown tabby into one of them…

6


	11. Wounded

**Ch. 11**

**Wounded**

A warm breeze blew into the cave waking the small brown tabby. He stretched and looked around. Sunpaw was still sleeping along with Mintfrost who was curled around both of the younger apprentices, but where was Willowpaw? In fact, where were Moonfang and that brown wolf?

Bloodpaw bolted out of the den and into the light outside. It had been bright in here last night too, but dark out in the forest. Wolves were everywhere now and in colors that Bloodpaw had never seen any cats in.

Over in one corner of the large opening were two, possibly male, wolves talking. One was that blue wolf from the night before and the other was brown and black. The blue wolf was laughing and pointing to something on the other side of the clearing and the brown and black wolf pretended to be in pain making the blue wolf laugh again.

"Just like that, Dawnwolf!" the blue wolf barked. "Come on, let's go," he got up and started over to the side he'd been pointing to.

Dawnwolf started to follow, but stopped and looked strait at Bloodpaw. "Wait," he barked. "Should we tell, Moonfang he's awake?"

The blue wolf stopped as well. "Nah, he can come with us. Hey, Bloodpaw, you want to come with us on a _mission?"_ he barked.

Bloodpaw's head tilted to one side. "Okay," he mewed, confused. His small paws carried him over to the larger wolves. It felt weird being around wolves and not fighting them. They were being a little too friendly to him for Bloodpaw to just relax.

The blue wolf sat down instead of going where he'd been heading earlier. "I'm Bluesun, by the way."

Dawnwolf laughed. "It's no fare, you get to tell him your name but he already knows mine." His black and brown head shook and he stood back up just as Bluesun did. "Come on before I forget the face!" he barked and bolted ahead.

His paw steps were almost invisible at the speed that he ran making Bloodpaw's eyes hurt from trying to watch. The smaller tabby ran behind Bluesun who was padding a little slower to try and keep pace with Bloodpaw.

"Doesn't it feel weird to be among wolves?" he barked.

Bloodpaw nodded. "I'm use to fighting dogs and wolves, but I've only done that in my dreams and once with that brown wolf with the brighter patches."

"You mean Stormfang?" Bluesun barked. "He's our Alpha. I kind of doubt that you took on our Alpha Male and are standing right here." He came to a stop behind Dawnwolf who'd stopped also. "Stormfang is very powerful, but he's lovable. Watch…"

Dawnwolf padded forward over to that brown wolf that Bloodpaw had fought so long ago. When the brown and black wolf passed him, he jumped back and howled. "The pain! AGH!" He then fell on his back and put his paws strait up in the air.

Bloodpaw's eyes opened wide. "Is he okay?!"

Bluesun bolted over and, dramatically, howled, "No!"

Stormfang joined in and sat next to him. "You know, Bluesun." He looked up to the blue male wolf. "It is kind of _your_ fault." Stormfang smiled and prodded Dawnwolf.

The brown and black male wolf smirked. "He's right. He wouldn't have the memories if you didn't cause them."

Bluesun jumped up. "Hey! It's not my fault I'm seme over my Alpha Male!" He tackled the brown male and started licking his face over and over. "And it's not my fault I imprinted on him, but who wouldn't? He's adorable!"

"Aw, you mean it?"

"Yea? Why wouldn't I? You're like a bunny before it's killed!" The blue wolf jumped up and started jumping around Stormfang. "You're fluffy and adorable!"

Stormfang smiled and started wagging his tail. "You're sweet, Hunter," was all he barked.

"That's enough love, you two," barked a female voice. "Why don't you go fetch Moonfang now since Bloodpaw is awake? Besides, it's not long before the other cats wake up."

The she-wolf was bright silver with a blue glisten to her. There were certain blue markings that streaked across her muzzle that were faded into her fur nicely making it seam like ice forming from her kitten soft fur.

"Who are you?" Bloodpaw questioned.

The silver she-wolf smiled showing her pointy fangs. "I'm Sugareye," she answered.

"And do you know where Willowpaw is?" the brown tabby mewed. His bloody eyes narrowed slightly at her.

Her blue eyes averted from his gaze and over to the forest. "If you're talking about the grey-and-brown tabby then she's out in the forest with Moonfang. I swear, that black tabby wolf loves that little she-cat." Her head shook. "A gay Alpha Male and a lesbian Alpha Female; what a good match."

"Gay?" Bloodpaw echoed. "Lesbian? What are those?"

"Gay means two males that are in love and lesbian means two females that love each other." Sugareye smiled and looked back to the forest. "They're almost here. Just stay in the center of camp and they'll find you." The silver she-wolf licked Bloodpaw's cheek, making him jump back and snarl slightly, before she padded away.

His ear twitched in annoyance. Only his mother could lick him like that! With a flick of his tail, Bloodpaw made the slobber from Sugareye vanish.

Bluesun, not moving from when Sugareye was there, was still standing over the smaller Alpha Male. "Um… Jesse? Can you get off?"

He looked down at Stormfang. "Why? You don't like me on top of you?" He growled sexually down at him before nipping Stormfang's ear.

Bloodpaw snorted. He was fine with his sister loving another female, but two males? It was so wrong!

"Hey, save that for Crystal Lake, Bluesun!" Stormfang barked playfully, hinting at something.

Not knowing what they were barking about, and not even wanting to know, Bloodpaw started pacing the camp trying his hardest to stay in the middle. A low growl interrupted him. Over by a badly made den was a dark grey she-wolf glaring at the two gay wolves, who still being stupid.

"Bluesun, who is _that?" _he said with utter disgust with his tail pointing at the grey she-wolf.

Both of the wolves stopped messing around and looked at him with pure shock.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Bloodpaw continued.

Bluesun stepped off of his Alpha and continued looking at him like he had said something retarded. "That's Emeraldeyes and sh-"

"Emeraldeyes? Her eyes don't look anything like emeralds, they remind me more of a mouse when I goes bad. You know, when it stars rotting and gets all green?" Bloodpaw half smiled, but it faded when they looked even more shocked, but now they weren't looking at him.

The growl from earlier came from behind him. Bloodpaw looked back to find that grey wolf standing behind him. His red eyes narrowed at the wolf, but he had no intention of fighting. If she was as strong as these other wolves, then he wouldn't think of fighting.

Emeraldeyes's teeth were showing. Her eyes glared down at the small tabby burning into his eyes making the tabby flinch.

"Hey," Bluesun barked. "Why don't we just forget he said that? Besides, Alpha will be back and I don't think you want her to kill you when she sees you attacking her brother." His green eyes matched Emeraldeyes's eyes. If their fur was the same color, they would look like twins.

Stormfang jumped forward. "And I'm here. I don't want you attacking _anyone _while I'm around, Emeraldeyes." The brown Alpha growled and his tail went up.

Trying to somehow defy him, Emeraldeyes's tail went up as well, but was shaking and then fell between her legs. Her teeth were still showing and a loud growl was vibrating through her body, but she stepped back.

Bloodpaw watched her in confusion. "Why is she backing away?"

Bluesun glanced down and smiled. "Alphas show their power in the pack by their tail. If they put their tail up, like Stormfang, then that means they want other wolves to do as they say." The blue wolf looked back to Emeraldeyes. "She is one of the lowest members in the pack, so when the Alpha raises his or her tail, she can't help but put her tail down and back up." His teeth bared and a sharp growl roared over Emeraldeyes.

"Whatever, I don't need to stoop so low as to attack Moonfang's brother." Her tail flicked and the grey she-wolf stalked off.

Bloodpaw followed the grey she-wolf with his red eyes. "She is scary…" he hissed after her. Turning to the brown Alpha and blue wolf, Bloodpaw dipped his head. Even though he was kicking himself for doing this, Bloodpaw went further. "Thank you for making that mutt go away," he mewed.

Bluesun put a paw under Bloodpaw's head and lifted him up so he wasn't bowing anymore. "No need to say thanks. We watch after each other in this camp."

"Don't cats do the same thing?" Stormfang barked from Bluesun's side.

Bloodpaw nodded. "We watch other each other and protect our clan with our lives… but you wolves don't have to since you live forever." The tabby sat down with his tail wrapped around his forelegs. His claws were dug into the cold ground beneath him in anger for even thanking these flea-bitten animals.

Still lying down, Dawnwolf rolled over and looked at Bloodpaw in sadness. "We don't have fleas…" he whined.

Shocked, Bloodpaw turned to him. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Your thoughts; you said you were mad that you thanked us flea-bitten animals. Well," Dawnwolf jumped up and put his tail up in fake annoyance, "I say good day to you, sir!" The brown and black wolf padded away but then came back. He placed a paw on Bloodpaw's small shoulder and licked the back of hi head. "You're alright, kit."

A growl eased from Bloodpaw and he was thinking about attacking the wolf, but that would anger Moonfang so he held his anger in. "I'm not a kit, I'm an apprentice!" Instead of jumping up to attack the wolf, Bloodpaw jumped forward and landed under Bluesun to protect himself against another friendly gesture.

He laughed. "You're pretty fast for a cat, Bloodpaw," Dawnwolf howled. "Maybe we could train you to even be as fast as Stormfang."

"Don't you mean Oceancoat?" Bluesun barked. "Stormfang has gotten…slower lately." He smiled and licked his Alpha's cheek.

The brown wolf nipped Bluesun's ear. "That's your fault, Hunter!"

Another growl, not belonging to any of them, came from near the fresh-kill pile. It was that ugly gray she-wolf again. Her green eyes were glaring at Bluesun and Stormfang with anger like Bloodpaw had never seen before. One paw stepped toward them and he knew that wolf was going to attack.

Bloodpaw arched his back and raised his tail to try and rub it against Bluesun to get his attention, but the wolf jumped. Before the tabby could yowl anything, Emeraldeyes landed a blow to Stormfang and they were rolling around the camp biting and kicking.

Bluesun, now noticing all of this, turned toward them and growled, but didn't join in. Maybe he was scared he might hurt Stormfang. Instead, the blue wolf just glared at them making sure that Emeraldeyes didn't hurt Stormfang.

As if hearing his thoughts, the gray she-wolf bit down on the Alpha's neck and started twisting. Loud cracks were sounded throughout the camp, but Bluesun still didn't jump in.

Stormfang twisted sideways making Emeraldeyes fall over him and onto her side with the brown male towering over her. He shoved a paw onto her chest and started pulling away but she wouldn't let go.

She kicked out and released him making Stormfang fly into the Hunters' Den.

Bluesun, Dawnwolf, and Bloodpaw all watched as he disappeared into the den with another loud snapping noise. Now Bluesun was rushing over to him leaving the other two behind.

A loud yip from Dawnwolf brought Bloodpaw's eyes back to the gray she-wolf just as her teeth met the tabby's throat. Bloodpaw yowled against the pain but only felt more as Emeraldeyes started flinging her head around and slamming the smaller cat into the ground and against her stone-hard legs.

Another force, stronger than Emeraldeyes's, rammed into her throwing Bloodpaw out of her reach. Loud growls were heard between two wolves. They seamed to be jumping at each other and tearing at each other's fur. Bloodpaw's eyes opened and he saw Moonfang and Emeraldeyes fighting.

"You piece of foxdung! You hurt my brother!" Moonfang was howling and kept running into the gray wolf until her body was up against a smaller den on the other side of the camp. "Even with the life Bloodpaw gave me, I'm still furious with you!" The black tabby sunk her teeth into the gray wolf and threw her over toward the Hunters' den.

Emeraldeyes stood up, shakily. "It's not my fault. That fur ball was pushing it!" She started sniffing the air and licked her lips. "Seams like he's loosing a lot of blood, Moonfang. Say your last good-byes before your bro leaves to join CloudPack."

Moonfang looked over to him and was at Bloodpaw's side before he could blink. She rested her muzzle on him for a second and howled out for someone. "Bloodfur, get over here!"

A large red wolf with piercing yellow eyes padded over and started running when she saw Bloodpaw. "What happened?!" she howled. "I was in my den so I couldn't hear anything. I'd only poked my head out because I smelled blood." Her head lowered. "I thought it was a deer or something, but I was way wrong."

Her nose barely touched Bloodpaw's side but he still groaned in pain. With little strength at all, Bloodfur gripped the back of Bloodpaw's neck and picked him up. "I'll have to move him to my den, Moonfang. Come if you wish, Alpha." She started toward her den with the tabby dangling from her jaws.

6


	12. History

**Ch. 12**

**History**

Moonfang was pacing in front of Bloodfur's den. She knew that the red she-wolf had said that she could come in, but the black she-wolf didn't want to mess up something and make Bloodfur loose her concentration.

The only reason she hadn't been there to even prevent any of this from happening is because she had taken Willowpaw over to Blood Hollow to talk and learn how the clan had been doing. It wasn't Willowpaw's fault, but her own for not staying. If Moonfang had stayed here, then Bloodpaw wouldn't be in the Medical Den.

Willowpaw was taking it petty hard though. She was sitting over by Sunpaw, Mintfrost, and Dawnwolf who was probably trying to comfort her by telling the tabby Moonfang's thoughts.

The black tabby padded to her side. "Listen, it's not your fault. At least we got back in time, right?"

Willowpaw looked up. "True, but I was the one that asked if I could see parts of your territory. StarClan knows that you couldn't resist my offer so we left camp." Her head fell again and tail wrapped around herself.

Dawnwolf half growled. "It's hard to change a cat's mind, Moonfang," he growled low enough that only Moonfang heard. "She won't let you take the blame and her thoughts keep saying that she hopes you don't hate her for it."

"Hate her? I could never hate Willowpaw," Moonfang growled at the same level. "I love her; nothing she could do would ever make me hate her." Her brown and yellow eyes looked to Willowpaw. "It wasn't her fault my brother was hurt, and it never will be." Her tongue gently smoothed the fur on Willowpaw's head.

The gray and brown tabby looked up with bright green eyes. "Please, don't try and comfort me too, Moonfang. You have enough to worry about already."

Moonfang's eyes narrowed playfully. "I'll comfort you when I want to!" Her muzzle pushed Willowpaw's side making her fall over. She started pushing her around lightly making the smaller cat laugh and bat, claws sheathed, at her nose.

"Alpha!" howled a female voice.

Moonfang turned and saw Bloodfur standing in the Medical Den.

"Come quickly! It's Bloodpaw; he needs your opinion…" Her yellow eyes were glistening in a way that made Moonfang shiver, but she ran over anyway.

Once inside the den, a cold wind forced yet another shiver down Moonfang's spine. It was deathly cold in this den and Bloodfur probably needed Moonfang for her remaining warmth.

Blood was dotting the way to the back of the den where Bloodpaw lay unmoving. There were a few things around him: black seeds, soft leaves, fluffy looking plants, and other things.

"The only way we can save him is to change him into a Demon Vampire Wolf…like us." As Bloodfur spoke, her red paws smoothed down some of Bloodpaw's fur making him moan in pain.

Moonfang nodded. "Do you want me to change him, or will you?"

Bloodfur froze. "You're asking me if I'll change someone?" Her voice was surprised, but Moonfang had no idea why. "Usually it's just Alpha's that change animals into us, but…you're new at this so you must be pulling my tail."

"No, I'm serious because I don't know how to change animals into Demon Vampire Wolves." Moonfang's black head tilted to one side in frustration and confusion. "Just change him and I won't tell anyone."

Yellow eyes showing in excitement, Bloodfur dropped her head down to Bloodpaw's body. Her mouth opened and Moonfang was surprised to see perfect, sharp, strait teeth. They dug into the smaller cat's neck and shoulder making him almost yowl.

"I'll be waiting out in camp." The black tabby started out, but froze suddenly as if something had made her. She turned around and came back to sit and watch.

Bloodfur took her teeth out of Bloodpaw's shoulder and neck. She hadn't bitten him as long as Stormfang had bitten Moonfang to change her. "I only put as much venom in as I thought you would produce, so he'll change slowly." He yellow eyes looked back to Moonfang again. "Also, sorry about making you come back. If you'd gone out there while I was doing this, then someone would find out."

"You did that? What kind of power is that?!"

"I call it Mind Control, but it doesn't work on everyone." She shook her head before standing up. "We might want to leave. I'll make this cave sound proof because he's going to be yowling as loud as you've ever heard."

Moonfang nodded and both wolves started out of the den. Once outside, Bloodfur raised her tail to the entrance and a yellow light rose blocking the entrance from the rest of camp, before disappearing again. The red wolf smiled and bolted out into the forest.

Padding back to Willowpaw, Moonfang had her head down. She couldn't stop thinking about how Bloodpaw looked in pain when he was bitten. Moonfang made sure not to think about who bit him since Dawnwolf was over there. "Bloodpaw is going to be fine!" she announced.

Sunpaw's ginger eyes suddenly lit up and the orange she-cat started jumping around the clearing in a small circle. "Yay! He's gonna be okay!" Her tabby tail was moving along with her making Moonfang's think it made her jump higher.

"Nah, she just thinks it's fun to try and match her tail with her legs," Dawnwolf barked. "And, sorry about your brother having to be bitten. Must be hard to bite your own family."

Moonfang's head lowered. "You have no idea…"

"Why don't you and I go hunting? That'll take your mind off of him." Dawnwolf laid a tail over Moonfang's back in an attempt to try and comfort her.

She shook her head. "I think I'll go hang with a different wolf. Maybe Raindrop or Lighttooth."

Dawnwolf's eyes seamed to light up. "Then I guess your best bet is Lighttooth because Raindrop is out on patrol with Blueclaw, Waveteller, and Snowflake." He rasped his tongue over Moonfang's scar. "He'll be okay as long as no one goes into the Medical Den." With that said, Dawnwolf bounded over to Cinderflame and buried his head into her side affectionately.

The black tabby she-wolf sat down for a little bit before looking around for the white she-wolf she'd mentioned a few moments ago. Lighttooth was over by Soulreaper sharing a rather large rabbit. The white she-wolf had a leg and Soulreaper was hogging the rest of the animal.

"I'm still surprised that Emeraldeyes did that!" Lighttooth was barking. "Do you think she did it on purpose or was it an accident?" The white she-wolf's eyes rose to look at the darker gray wolf on front of her.

Soulreaper glared at Lighttooth with piercing black eyes. "I think you should stop talking about that already! They said Bloodpaw was going to be okay and Stormfang is figuring out what to do with her." Soulreaper spit out a bone she's snapped off of the rabbit and took another bite. When she looked back up, she noticed Moonfang and nodded. "Greetings, Alpha."

Lighttooth jumped up and spun around when Soulreaper barked. "Oh! Hello Moonfang!" Her blue eyes glinted at her Alpha showing she hadn't known Moonfang was there while she was talking about Bloodpaw.

The black tabby dipped her head in response. "I was wondering…if you'd come hunting with me, Lighttooth."

The white she-wolf sat down with a smile. "Sure! I'm not hungry, but anything to make you feel better, Alpha!" She then turned to Soulreaper. "You want to come too?"

She shook her head. "Why don't you ask Moonsky and Oceancoat, or even Silvercoat if they will go?" In a flash, she'd snatched a large chunk of meat from the rabbit's back and was crunching through the bones. "Moonsky is over with Emeraldeyes yelling at her, and the Short Furs are by their den."

Moonfang and Lighttooth both bounded over to the Hunters' Den first where Emeraldeyes was being barked at by a light gray she-wolf. The younger Hunter's fur, which was usually so shiny and flat, was standing on end with her tail up in a Beta status.

"And you attacked our Alpha, mother! You've been good at ignoring it so far, but why did you go and attack him?!" Her lips were pulled back showing Moonsky's teeth and allowing her words to come out in a harsh snarl. "And then you attack Bloodpaw?! You knew that Moonfang would try and kill you for that!!!"

Moonfang approached making Moonsky's tail drop suddenly. "Greetings Alpha. I was just putting Emeraldeyes in her _place_!" Moonsky turned back to Emeraldeyes leaving just half a mouse tail between her and the older gray she-wolf.

Moonfang's tail rose in dominance. "Leave her alone, Moonsky. I think she was punished enough…for now." The Alpha's yellow and brown eyes glared down at Emeraldeyes's badly wounded body that was healing rather fast. "When Stormfang regains consciousness, he'll decide how to punish you further."

Lighttooth didn't meet her mother's gaze, but instead padded to her sister's side. "Hey, Moonfang wants you to come hunting with us. Are you up for it?"

The light gray she-wolf smiled. "Sure, I'm up for anything! Let's go!"

Moonfang laughed. "First, I want to get an apprentice or two. Oops, I mean Short Fur!"

The two young wolves laughed and followed Moonfang over to a small group of Short Furs and Hunters. In the small group were Oceancoat, Silvercoat, Thundercoat, Lunaray, and Magictail. Lunaray was waving her tail around and making small beams of light that followed her tail.

"I don't know how, but I started doing this a few suns ago." The blue/purple she-wolf continued waving her tail fast until it was just a small beam of light.

Silvercoat giggled and looked as if she sucked the light away from her tail. "My name should be Blackhole!" she barked jokingly. "I can suck up light if it's annoying me." She opened her mouth and the purple light went back to Lunaray's tail. "And then release it."

Magictail smiled. Her blue/green fur sparkled against the sudden light that hit Lunaray's tail. "That's amazing! You could use that to take the light away from enemies and hit them in the dark!"

Oceancoat lay down and crossed her paws. "Just don't do it to Darkfang. He will get really pig and impossible to kill in the dark."

"I just don't understand why he got to mean…" Firestorm was standing next to them now. She'd padded up a few heartbeats before. "He wasn't always evil…when his mother was in charge."

"Really?" Moonfang barked and sat beside her. "He seamed like he'd been evil his entire life when I fought him."

Firestorm shook her head. "When Crispfang was in charge of DawnPack, everything was fine. But after the explosion, Crispfang's mate was killed and she used her new power to change the remaining wolves in DawnPack into Demons…and made Darkfang Alpha Male."

"Explosion?" Moonfang tiled her head to one side in total confusion. So far, she'd head that the packs had always been this way, but now she hears something about an explosion? "I never heard about…an explosion. What happened?"

Firestorm turned to face her Alpha to tell the story. "Long ago, four wolves came to the forest with other wolves and dogs to start four different packs. The wolves' names before the packs were started were Crisptree, Forestblade, Shadedmist, and Taintedblood.

"Each wolf controlled one pack. Crisptree was in charge of DawnPack, Forestblade lead HowlPack, Shadedmist got CloudPack, and Taintedblood got FogPack." Firestorm stopped just as Moonfang tilted her head again.

"FogPack and CloudPack? I know about CloudPack, but FogPack?" Moonfang tilted her head to the other side. "I thought CloudPack was where Hunter spirits go. They use to be alive? And who is FogPack?"

Firestorm snickered. Her brown and green eyes faced Moonfang. "FogPack is where evil spirits go and, yes, CloudPack use to be alive. Both packs no longer exist because the explosion killed them all." Her eyes fell back to the ground.

"This is what I know about what happened: During the time before the explosion, Taintedblood, Crisptree, Shadedmist, and Forestblade had gotten only nine lives from that cat's warrior ancestors; StarClan. The only one that got a totally different name was Shadedmist. His new name was Starfang. The others were Crispfang, Forestfang, and Taintedfang."

Moonfang barked to stop her again. "You've only mentioned four Alphas, aren't there two like now?"

The tortoiseshell wolf shook her head. "There was only one Alpha then because they fought for their positions. And out of all of them, Taintedfang was the worse of all. He would kill anything that got near his camp; no questions asked.

"No wolf knows how or where it came from, but there was a large explosion near FogPack and CloudPack. When DawnPack and HowlPack when to go check on them, there was no trace of life anywhere. There was one thing we did find.

"One den, near the back of the FogPack camp, was untouched. The outside was completely banged up, but when you go in, it's as if there had been stuff there blocking the explosion from getting inside." Firestorm's paw slammed down on the hard rock and sent a small crack through the camp. "There had been someone hiding in there…and they escaped, but no one knows who it was or how many there were."

Moonfang shook her head to clear the image of the camp out and let her camp return. "So they were all killed except those in that den? Is the explosion how HowlPack became what they are?"

Firestorm nodded. "Forestfang and his mate were both killed in the explosion from a weird virus, but Shimmerfang and Sunfang had gotten what we have. Their fur hardened and their blood froze within them. The few wolves that were alive needed help so Shimmerfang was going to end their lives quickly, but instead gave them the venom that changed them into Demon Vampire Wolves as well."

The black tabby Alpha moved over just as Moonsky sat down. "Wow, I never knew that she had to change the whole pack…" Moonfang growled. Her claws scraped at the ground before she stood back up. "But I'd come over here to ask if the Short Furs would like to go hunting with me and Moonsky."

Silvercoat nodded. "I'd love too! Too bad Thundercoat can't come. Emeraldeyes wont' let anyone go anywhere with him unless she comes too."

The yellow wolf nudged her slightly. "Hey, I don't want to go anyway. You know I'm not a good hunter." His dark ginger eyes turned to Oceancoat who hadn't barked a word for a little while. "Why don't you go with them?"

Oceancoat looked up. "Sure, I'll go." The young Short Fur stretched and followed the other over to the entrance of the camp. "Where are we gonna hunt?"

"I was thinking over by Elk Clearing," Moonsky spoke up. "As the name tells, there are elk over there and no one in camp has had a good large bull elk in a while."

Silvercoat bounded over to Moonfang. "Why don't you catch it? I've never seen your powers actually used yet."

The black tabby shrugged. "Okay, I'll get it. I mean, how hard can it be?"

Oceancoat was padding a little ways behind Silvercoat when she barked, "Very hard. Even though we have unbelievable strength, bull elk are very powerful even after the explosion."

Moonsky turned to her. "Yea, bull elk have a special power that if they hit you, it turns your blood back to the way it was before but only if it bleeds out."

"How much harm could that do?" Moonfang barked as they neared a large clearing. "I mean, it just unfreezes your blood is all."

The bright gray she-wolf sat beside Moonfang at the edge of the clearing. "Since it's been frozen for so long, when it unfreezes, your blood will race faster than your heart can keep up and then kill you." Moonsky lowered her body to the ground and crept forward. "Come on, Elk Clearing is just a little ways ahead. Just keep low and the humans won't find you."

"Human? What are humans?" Moonfang lowered into the hunters' crouch and followed Moonsky.

The gray she-wolf continued crawling with her tail-end slightly in the air. "Um…as Stormfang calls them, twoleg. That might ring a bell."

"What could twolegs do to us? They have no weapons that can pierce us…right?"

"Wrong," Silvercoat barked. "Their shot sticks have special things in them that go right through us."

The small Short Fur crawled past Moonfang making the Alpha stop. "Doesn't that not hurt? I mean, we are dead already, right?"

Moonsky sat up once she was near the forest on the other side of the clearing. "Just hurry up. If any humans see you and try to shoot, then you'll know if it hurts or not."

Moonfang sat up and noticed she was only in the center of the field. Her ears turned so she could listen for any sounds. After a few heartbeats, the black tabby stared forward slowly trying not to make any sudden movements. Just as she was passing by a small tree in the clearing, a loud click crackled through the air making the wolf stop. Instinctively, Moonfang jolted forward and was at the trees in an instant.

"Nice jump, Alpha!" Oceancoat barked.

Moonsky was smiling as well. "It's not much further now. Since the humans saw you jump this way, they might head over there as well. Keep your guard up everyone!" The gray she-wolf jumped forward and the rest followed close behind.

Moonfang stopped when light ran into her darkened sights. A thin layer of shadows covered up the light from her view and faded away slowly so the light wouldn't hurt.

In front of the small patrol was a huge herd of animals. Their legs were thin compared to their massive bodies. Most of them didn't have anything on their heads, but their fur was so beautiful it was hard to notice just the heads. The pattern on all of them was so similar it was as if it were just one big animal instead a bunch of them.

One of them, however, caught Moonfang's attention. There were two of them, but the bigger one had the she-wolf's eye. Both of them were ramming into each other with huge horns on their heads. The large one had a slightly bigger set of horns and seamed to be winning this odd battle.

"What are they doing?" Moonfang barked.

Moonsky lowered herself again. "They are seeing who is stronger and who will get the girl. The winner will get the female elk and then will be the Alpha of the herd."

Moonfang pushed herself o the ground and, as before, allowed herself to sink into the ground. Once her eyes opened, she was in that odd world. The forest as an odd blue color and the shadows where the others had been were lying beside her.

The Alpha jumped out onto the field and waited for the two elk to part from their battle so Moonfang could jump. The shadows continued to battle, but after a few moments, they split up to recharge. At that instant, Moonfang dove into the shadow and came up at the elk's throat. With a surprised yelp, the bull elk jumped back and started flinging its head back and forth to shake Moonfang off.

Moonfang, not paying attention, twisted and shoved her paws into the elk's shoulders and used her back paws to grab onto one of the elk's legs, making it fall forward. Sure, it had fallen on Moonfang, but the weight felt like nothing. She wiggled out and, again, dug her teeth into the elk's throat.

The blood washed over her senses and she started shaking the elk. When the scent got stronger and the elk started kicking, Moonfang started throwing the elk around. She was hitting it on the hard earth and tearing at its skin as she was killing it.

Once it stopped moving, Moonfang forced it and herself into the shadows and dragged it back to the others before coming back up.

Moonsky was looking at her with astonishment in her eyes. Her mouth was open so wide that a rabbit could hot right in and take a nap.

"How was that?" Moonfang barked, dropping the elk's leg.

Silvercoat and Oceancoat were jumping up and down. "Incredible!" they both howled.

"Let's get this back to camp!" Silvercoat barked. "I bet Stormfang will be so proud of you!"

When Silvercoat mentioned Stormfang, Moonfang started wondering if he was awake, but that only made her remember about Bloodpaw. She quickly nodded and grabbed the elk's scruff to drag it back to camp. With the help of the others, the small patrol started back to camp with Moonfang thinking about nothing but her brother…


	13. Gone

**Ch. 13**

**Gone**

Moonfang stretched for a second. The elk wasn't heavy, but they had been dragging it for a while. Moonsky had proposed that they try and pick it up off the ground, but the pups didn't have that kind of strength yet.

The black tabby She-wolf grabbed her piece of the elk again and tried her best to lift it off the ground. Moonsky moved from her spot at the front of the patrol to the back so she could pick up the rear opposite leg as Moonfang. With the pups' help, the wolves got the large elk off the ground and were able to carry it back to camp.

As they neared the camp, a small black pup with bright red eyes bolted from the entrance. As he passed, the harsh scent of burnt wood followed him with the slight smell of herbs mixed in.

Moonfang dropped the elk and turned to chase him, but he was just a pup. Her paws tingled in an urge to chase the pup, but it was too late. The black pup jumped over a bush and disappeared.

Just as she grabbed the elk's foreleg again, a few other hunters jumped over the ridge that lead to the camp in pursuit of the small black pup. One of them, Bluesun, stopped and faced Moonfang. His green eyes looked serious as if something really bad had happened.

"Did you see where he went?" Bluesun growled.

Dawnwolf jumped up and landed beside Bluesun. "He went over the bushes, Bluesun." The brown and black wolf glared at Moonfang, but his eyes immediately softened. "Thank you for the memory, Alpha," he barked and jumped forward to catch the other Hunter that had run ahead of them.

Before Bluesun jumped after him, his eyes glanced back at Moonfang. "That was Darkfang that just ran off, by the way. He'd snuck into the Medical Den and got to Bloodpaw."

Moonfang's eyes dilated and her fur immediately stood up. Her tail stuck up and thin shadows flowed over her making a darker coat over her already black fur.

The blue Hunter's ears fell and tail hung between his legs. "Don't worry," he continued. His voice and eyes were still strong, but his body language showed he was terrified. "We stopped Darkfang before he could do anything. The thing is, he got Stormfang and used him to escape."

"What do you mean 'got him'?" Her brown and yellow eyes turned red and narrowed at the Hunter.

Bluesun's body shivered under the immense stare. "Darkfang has the power to control other animals that have any sort of demon in them. Since Stormfang, and most of the wolves in HowlPack, are a third demon then he can control them as he did with Stormfang. He used Stormfang to attack me knowing I wouldn't try to harm him."

The legend that Firestorm had told Moonfang came back. She remembered how Crispfang had changed all of the wolves in DawnPack to demons using a special power. Since Darkfang was Alpha of that pack, did he have that power?

She growled to herself for not stopping the pup and fled into camp. As she neared the prey pile, she found Willowpaw, Sunpaw, and Stormfang with their heads hung. Even with her intense worry for her brother, Moonfang abandoned the feeling and padded to them.

Willowpaw stood up and ran to the she-wolf. "Moonfang, we are so sorry!" she mowed with her face buried in the black wolf's foreleg. "We didn't know that was Darkfang until that red medicine wolf chased him out of the den."

Smiling, Moonfang licked the she-cat's head. "It's okay. Bluesun said she stopped him before Darkfang could do any damage."

Sunpaw was clawing at the ground. "You should go see him." Her amber eyes glanced up but turned away as quick as she had looked.

The Alpha nodded and ran toward the Medical den. When the darkness of the cave was upon her, Moonfang could sense someone with her and spotted Willowpaw pelting behind her.

"What are you doing?" The wolf stopped to stare at the brown and grey tabby.

Willowpaw's pelt pricked up from the sudden question. "I…I wanted to follow you and see if Bloodpaw was okay."

Yellow and brown eyes softened. "You care about his quite a bit. Did you three get close on the journey to HowlPack?" Moonfang sat down outside the Medical Den with a paw up to her mouth. Gradually, she licked her paw a few times and brought it over her ear as a cat would.

The she-cat smiled. "We are StormClan; Bloodpaw came up with the idea." She took her place next to the black tabby with her tail wrapped over her paws. "I'm the leader, Willowstar, and Bloodpaw is my deputy."

Not being able to respond to that, Moonfang just laughed. "Well, Willow_star,_ shall we go into the Medical Den?" Moonfang dipped her upper body down with her tail in the air.

Willowpaw snickered. She bowed for a second and then flicked her tail toward the entrance. "Beauty first, Alpha Female."

Moonfang looked up and felt the blush under her fur. She stood up and padded into the den with her tail barely flicking the smaller she-cat. The she-cat followed close behind with the side of her face barely touching Moonfang's tail.

Once at the back of the den, they found Bloodpaw sound asleep. His pelt rose and fell as he slept without a sound. He showed no signs of suffering, and there didn't seam to be any wounds, so the Alpha Female let out a sigh of relief.

"We should tell Sunpaw that he's okay," she barked to Willowpaw who purred at her. "What are you purring about?" Moonfang felt the blush deepen and was glad that she didn't have white fur.

Willowpaw looked up with bright green eyes and smiled. "Nothing; it's just that you look so beautiful, and I never realized that when you were a cat." Then her fur spiked. "That Crowpaw, what a pompous jerk!"

The black tabby felt a quiet howl emerge from her sealed lips. "I agree to that!" She barked again in mock laughter. "But you know…Willowpaw," Moonfang turned to meet the she-cat's green eyes, "the only way you can stay here is if Stormfang says I can change you into a wolf."

Willowpaw's eyes dilated. "A wolf?! No, I can't do that…I'm too use to being a cat." The she-cat turned away and sat down. Her pelt pricked in different directions showing her extreme discomfort. "It's hard enough trying to be an apprentice; I just don't think I could make it in a pack of wolves."

"That's what I thought too!" Moonfang's tail wagged. "But look at me; I'm able to hunt larger prey, and I'm Alpha Female of the entire pack!" Her different colored eyes fell on the grey and brown tabby.

She looked away. "Sorry, but I can't live like that." Willowpaw started out of the den without another word from the Alpha Female.

Moonfang's eyes fell. Her fur lifted slightly and tail fell between her legs. The flush under her dark pelt was gone and all her emotions faded to that of sadness and longing. "And I thought I had to ask Stormfang if it was okay…? Well, that shortened my plans for the day." She took one last look at her sleeping brother before padding from the den.

Stormfang had awoken and was on top of the Shattered Rock, fur bristling. His tail was raised as high as it could possible go and anger pierced the pelt of ever wolf in the pack.

Cinderflame and Soulreaper walked beside Emeraldeyes as they brought her up to the large broken rock. Her fur was ratted from being yelled at by her pups and she had a deep un-bleeding cut under her left eye.

Lunaray and Magictail were broth growling at their mother with fur standing on end; bright lights rising from Lunaray's pelt. Waveteller was sitting, unmoving, beside Moonsky who was growling and raising her tail to Alpha position as her mother padded by, only to lower it again when she fully passed. Lighttooth, along with Blueclaw, were both looking away as she padded by ashamed to even be related to the she-wolf.

When they stopped in front of the Shattered Rock, Cinderflame padded back toward Dawnwolf and sat down. Soulreaper turned her head to her mother and growled, "I hope he sends the Soul Bird after you." The dark gray wolf fled over to Magictail and Lunaray.

Stormfang growled down at her and all the wolves faced him. "Emeraldeyes, you dare sink your teeth into the scruff of your Alpha Male; not to mention that you, literally, _attacked_ Bloodpaw!" His dark and light brown fur spiked out in pure rage at the grey she-wolf. "I've thought long and hard about what punishment to bestow upon you, and I've decided to send you into exile!"

A flicker of amusement shot into Tinfur's eyes. The Old One stood up and stretched. "You sure that's a fitting punishment, Alpha Male?" Tinfur barked. His bark was crispy from old age, and yet, so full of knowledge. "I think you should send the Soul Bird after her!"

A few other wolves howled in agreement, excluding Bluesun. The blue wolf stood at the base of the Shattered Rock with Firestorm, Bloodfur, Firefang, and Cloudfang. Moonfang thought that the Hunter would agree with them, but he probably loved Stormfang so much that he agreed with the Alpha's method more.

Now the she-wolf looked down remembering that the two Alphas had been here. The grey male wolf, still sporting a thick skull over his forehead, was watching Emeraldeyes with extreme caution. The red Alpha Female was leaning on Cloudfang with green eyes glaring at the grey wolf. This wasn't a really good first visit for the two TwilightPack wolves, even though Moonfang' didn't give a rat's tail what they thought…but she might ask Dawnwolf about them later.

"Alpha, what's Soul Bird?" Moonfang growled behind him.

Stormfang turned to her. "He's a bird that takes the spirit of wolves and tortures them, but only an Alpha can summon him." He turned back to the pack. With teeth showing in a negated smile, Stormfang howled in laughter. "So that pack barks, so it shall happen!" His fur glinted bright yellow and light sprang from his pelt. His eyes, now brilliant yellow, glared at Moonfang. "Might want to step off of the rock."

Moonfang listened and jumped down from the Shattered Rock. She landed by Willowpaw who she picked up and padded over to the throng of wolves. She placed the grey and brown tabby next to Sunpaw in order to turn her head back to the sight of the shinning wolf.

The Alpha Male, though it was hard to tell it was that clumsy brute right now, reared his head up in the beginning of a howl, but it cut off into barking. "CloudPack, hear my plea and send Soul Bird to the pack! A she-wolf by the name of Emeraldeyes had shown intense disloyalty to her clan by attacking both me and Moonfang's brother!" The light brightened on his fur. "The pack hath decided that the bird must come! I say, let Soul Bird come and take another wolf to the other side; FogPack!"

Suddenly, a sharp noise pierced the air. Moonfang bent over in pain from the high-pitched noise and stiffened a howl. After a moment, the she-wolf noticed several wolves looking at her and not in pain at all. She also spotted Emeraldeyes rolling on the ground of the large clearing with her paws shooting out in small, random convulsions.

From over the Shattered Rock came a large bird. Its head was fluffy with black feathers and red eyes were placed on the sides of its face. The side that the Alpha could see was normal, but when the bird turned, her eyes opened wide in shock. The side of its body was ripped open and eye gouged, and hanging, from the socket. Blood fell from its beak which cracked open and revealed large hooked teeth. The bird dug its beak into Emeraldeyes's side, sending blood over the other wolves who winced back from the sudden red liquid.

In the bird's beak was, what looked like, a transparent version of Emeraldeyes. Blood fell from the transparent version of the grey wolf and splattered when the bird dropped her.

Shaking in fear, Emeraldeyes stood up. "S-Soul Bird!" she howled and bolted from the clearing.

The bird opened its great wings and lifted from the clearing and after the wolf. Her paws left bloodstains over the clearing as she ran out into the forest and away from HowlPack.

Moonfang growled in unknown pain and felt herself loosing consciousness. A few wolves, though only Willowpaw's yowl stuck out the most, were calling out to her. Trying one last time to get up and ignore the pain, the black tabby fell into an unconscious state.


	14. Awaken

**Ch. 14**

**Awaken**

Darkness flowed over all knowledge and clouded his seeing. Bloodpaw stretched and stood up. He felt oddly calm after what had happened. Actually, he felt nothing. No feelings of fear pierced him and nothing of worry.

The tabby bolted for the entrance to the den when the sounds of wolves calling his sister's name traveled inside. His bloody eyes met the site of Emeraldeyes running from a huge bird. Cursing after the wolf and wishing her unluck; he glanced back to the clearing.

Moonfang was sprawled out in the clearing with her forepaws to her head. A few other wolves had blacked out for some unknown reason and everyone seamed worry. The worry washed over Bloodpaw and never touched him. There was almost an invisible shield around him.

He stood there unmoving until his sister finally woke up. She stretched and sat with her head hung low. Her fur was pricked up for several seconds and then suddenly spiked up and she whirled around. As soon as her eyes met Bloodpaw's, Moonfang smiled and ran to him.

"Brother!" she called out. "You're awake!"

The other members of the pack spotted him and smiled.

Bloodpaw stood unmoving under his sister's cold touch. He didn't smile and he felt nothing. The one thing that he was doing was staring at the dark figure beside Moonfang. It hovered slightly around her in an odd way, almost as the grass covers the surface of the ground. No one seamed to notice, so Bloodpaw tossed the darkness aside, but not completely away.

"How do you feel?" she barked, sounding surprised. "Does your body ache?"

Bloodpaw shook his head. He licked a brown paw and brought it over an ear. "I feel fine." His voice was monotone and unnatural. His red eyes were dulled as he stared at his sister and kept an unnoticed touch of vision on the shape around her. He guessed she'd gained the shape during training and everyone was use to it while he'd been recovering. The weird thing about the figure was that it connected to her stripes and gave them an unnatural movement whilst the rest of her body stayed motionless.

Moonfang smiled. She seamed no way unnerved that he mentioned nothing of the figure. "That's good." Her brown and yellow eyes fell back to the entrance. "The pack just sent Emeraldeyes's soul running from the camp. They said her pups were going to burry her body."

Bluesun has padded to her side. "That's correct. Since we were the closest thing she had to family, now that Shimmerfang is gone, we shall burry her."

"But you don't like her…right?" Moonfang barked. The figure swayed away from her, but stayed connected.

Bluesun nodded. "I may not lover her, but she is the mother of my pups." The blue wolf smiled.

The brown tabby snorted, licking dirt from his sharp claws. No surprise spread through him when he noticed his claws were turning black at the base. After licking them, and cutting the tip of his tongue, Bloodpaw stamped his paw on the earth.

Moonfang glanced down. "Are you okay?" she asked her brother.

HE snorted again. "Legs ache. Where's Sunpaw?" Bloodpaw changed the subject for no apparent reason.

"Sunpaw? Oh! She's over with Mintfrost and Willowpaw." She'd been trying her best to smile through the whole sentence, but the she-wolf's voice squeaked at the grey and brown tabby's name.

"Thank you." Bloodpaw would have asked his beloved sister if everything was alright, but he chose not to. The red-eyed tabby didn't reel like himself right now.

Bloodpaw skirted the large camp till he saw a yellow she-cat with orange stripes on her tail and the orange heart on her left shoulder that she hoped would be included in her warrior name. He felt like smiling, but nothing came. No purr either.

The yellow she-cat spotted him and her face lit up. "Bloodpaw!" Sunpaw raced forward and rubbed her face to his shoulder. "I knew that I'd heard Moonfang scream for you." A purr rumbled through her. Her fur was pricked with unease.

"You were scared?" his voice was still monotone.

Sunpaw jumped back. "Of course I was! I like you more than a normal friend, Bloodpaw." She licked his cheek. "Other cats see you as a spy from ShadowClan, but not me. You are a sweet and caring cat when you want to be."

A blush burned under his fir, making his nose a little darker, but Bloodpaw didn't feel any emotion reach his brain. "I like you too…" he meowed in return. Bloodpaw knew the emotion was inside him, but none of it touched his being.

She purred louder. "I know."

"Moonfang said that Willowpaw is over here too; where is she?" Bloodpaw changed the subject again when he couldn't spot the she-cat.

Sunpaw smiled. "She's talking with Moonfang." The yellow she-cat pointed toward the two animals. Both of them were still with Bluesun, but the male wolf wasn't involved in the conversation between them and looked rather upset. "I'm not sure what happened, but Willowpaw and Moonfang seam to be having an argument."

A black-and-white tom mewed to himself, "Young love doesn't last forever." He grinned when they looked at him. "You two will last since you're different genders, but two females should never be together." Mintfrost tailed on like an elder.

Willowpaw padded over. Her conversation with Moonfang had sent the Alpha Female out on a hunting patrol with Bluesun and Moonsky. "Why don't you come to ThunderClan? I'm sure Firestar won't mind as long as you can help with hunting."

Mintfrost laughed. "Now that my brother is gone, I won't be doin' much huntin'." He then smiled. "And thank you for your kindness, but I belong out here." Icy blue eyes turned to the sky. "Since I've lived here for seasons, I've forgotten the warrior code. Besides," he licked his tail, "I'm an elder, not a warrior."

The grey and brown tabby nodded. "The offer will still be open if you change your mind, Mintfrost."

He purred. "You're a very sweet apprentice. Maybe you'll be a leader one day, eh?" Mintfrost laughed.

"She's got to get past Bloodpaw first!" Sunpaw meowed, twining her tail with the brown tabby's.

Another blush rose under his dark pelt along with growling from his stomach.

The other cats looked to him.

"Um… hunting anyone?" Bloodpaw attempted a smile, succeeding.

Willowpaw shook her head. "The prey here is too big for us to hunt." She tapped Bloodpaw's shoulder with her fluffy tail. "Come on," she mewed. "The fresh kill pile is over here."

The cats bounded over to a large hole in the ground filled up with dead animals that none of them had ever seen. It took all of them to drag a small, light brown animal with white spots off the pile, but it was worth it. The meat was a little rough and most of the blood was gone, but the taste was unlike anything the cats had eaten.

Bloodpaw showed no like or dislike of the prey. He only ate because he had to.

The hyper active brown and black wolf, Dawnwolf, told them they were eating a fawn, or baby deer.

"These are considered rare around the wolf packs," he'd said. "Deer don't usually mate a lot so their young are a delicacy and we can't eat a lot or the deer would disappear."

Sunpaw yawned. "I can't wait until tomorrow," she mewed to Bloodpaw. "They said they'd take us home tomorrow. Isn't that great?"

He finished off the remainder of a back leg that they'd been sharing. "I could care less."

The yellow she-cat snorted. "I know you miss your parents."

"Maybe, but I'm not sure." Red eyes met amber. "But I'm with my sister again." Bloodpaw stopped, licking a bloody paw. "I may have lost all feel of emotions after Emeraldeyes attacked me, but I feel enough to want to stay here."

She sighed. Bloodpaw had told her and Willowpaw that he couldn't feel any emotions whatsoever. They said he may get them back, but it was unsure.

"You feel for your sister…" Sunpaw ventured "How do you feel about me? And I don't want what you remember before you lost it. How do you feel now?"

Bloodpaw didn't stiffen or hesitate. "I love you."

The younger yellow she-cat purred. "I'm glad we feel the same."

HE purred back. It was a struggle, but Bloodpaw managed to keep it a purr.

"Sunpaw," the tabby tom hissed. "There is another reason I want to stay…"

She met his stead gaze. "What's that?"

"I just feel at home in this forest… but I'm willing to go back and bid farewell to my parents and friends." Bloodpaw locked her forehead.

Sunpaw nodded.

From the Hunters' Den, Lunaray padded over. Blue and purple fur glittered against the rising moon. Even with the moon up, the camp still held the flow of the afternoon sun.

"Kits!" she howled. "You're sleeping with us tonight." Lunaray sat beside the tabby and yellow cats.

Sunpaw sighed. "We're not kits."

Lunaray laughed. "Sorry Short Furs, you are just so small compared to us."

"Wrong again," Bloodpaw meowed. "We are apprentices."

"Oh yea… you're cats, so you have the whole warrior thing…"

Light tooth jumped on her sister's back. "It's getting late, apprentices, so why don't we show you your bedding?" The cream white wolf smiled and bounded to the Hunters' Den.

Sunpaw laughed. "Come on, Bloodpaw! The sooner we get some rest, the sooner we get home!" she bounded after Lunaray.

He nodded to himself. "And the sooner Darkfang can give me that promise." Bloodpaw grinned when he thought about Darkfang's offer before the demon had revered the vampire venom from spreading.

"You coming?" Willowpaw mewed.

Bloodpaw flicked his tail. "Right before ya!"


	15. The Pain

Ch. 15

The Pain…

Sunlight beamed into the Alphas' Den. Beside the glittering Moonstone was both of HowlPack's current Alphas: Moonfang and Stormfang. Their tails were twined in a way that would seam like love to most others, but it was more for comfort.

Moonfang was the first to awake; her different colored eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lighting. As she stood, the black tabby noticed that Stormfang had had his head on her back.

"Alpha," she whispered, "It's time to get up."

He shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake up. "Just… a few more heartbeats, Bluesun…"

Moonfang giggled. The brown Alpha was so giddy about Bluesun that she almost believed they shared the same brain. "No, I'm not Bluesun." She licked his forehead. "We have to get my brother and friends back to ThunderClan."

Stormfang sat up slowly. "Okay, I'll go wake them." He got to his paws and started toward the entrance before tripping and falling on his face. "…I'm awake now."

She snickered. "Good to see that." Moonfang licked her forepaw and noticed the stripe on her leg moving with the stroke of her tongue. Ignoring this and guessing it was from her control of shadows, Moonfang followed the brown Alpha from the den.

The pack was already awake; a few coming back from hunting patrols.

One patrol consisting of Firestorm, Raindrop, Snowflake, and Soulreaper came in with a large elk between the four of them. Soulreaper had the large animal in a weird death grip with her teeth sunk into the elk's neck. Raindrop held the elk's rear legs while Snowflake held its forelegs. Firestorm padded out in front with her head held high.

"Alpha Female!" she called out and bounded over. "We got the Short Fur elk for the pups." Her brown and green eyes sparkled with delight.

"Short Fur elk?" Moonfang turned to Stormfang. "What's that?"

Stormfang grinned sheepishly. "Um, Firestorm, can't that thing wait? We have to bring the cats back to ThunderClan."

Firestorm looked back to the Old Ones where three small pups, the same ones that Moonfang had seen when she first came here, were listening to stories. The smallest pup, a red female, glanced back and her blue eyes lit up at the sight of the elk.

"I don't think we can wait now." Firestorm looked to Moonfang. "Oh, I forgot you don't know this stuff. The Short Fur elk is like a naming ceremony for our pups. You cats just give names to you apprentices, we have our pups kill a live animal in camp and then we give them a name." She smiled. "They are Snowflake and Raindrop's pups: Sapphirepup, Emeraldpup, and Rubypup."

Confusion showed on Stormfang's face. "But… I thought they weren't old enough to become Short Furs…"

The calico wolf laughed. "Yep, they grow up fast." She turned to Moonfang. "You can take your friends back home; the ceremony doesn't actually call for you two to be here."

Moonfang nodded. "Okay, so we'll put you in charge until we return. Wish I could stay to learn about this ceremony."

The Second in Command smiled. "I wish you could too, but you made a promise to them I'm guessing?" Her ears flicked to Bloodpaw and Sunpaw. "They look like they need to get home anyway."

Moonfang nodded. "We won't be long."

She smiled again. "I'm sure you won't. And we'll have three new Short Furs when you get back."

"Have Cinderflame train Sapphirepup," Stormfang barked before bounding over to Bluesun by the Hunters' Den.

Moonfang followed and sat beside Willowpaw. "You excited to leave…?" she mumbled to the grey and brown tabby.

"A little. I do miss my parents." Willowpaw turned to Moonfang but the wolf wouldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry I'm not staying, but I just wouldn't be able to survive out here."

"I don't want to hear it, okay?" She got to her paws, her tail vibrating and making her stripes squirm. "We should…just get you guys home." Her tail was completely black when she turned away from Willowpaw and over to her brother.

As she approached, his red eyes widened for a moment but no longer. "Hello sister," he said with a bow.

Moonfang nodded back. "Hey." She sat beside Sunpaw. "You ready to leave? Have you eaten yet?"

Sunpaw nodded. "We're ready to leave." Her tabby tail twitched impatiently. "But Mintfrost isn't going home with us."

She nodded. "Yes, I heard from yesterday." Moonfang turned to Mintfrost, smiling. "Where do you live?"

The old black and white tom smiled back at her. "I live right at the edge of TwilightPack's forest."

The mention of TwilightPack made Moonfang twitch. She hadn't seen Cloudfang and Firefang since Emeraldeyes's soul was taken. Looking around, she spotted the two Alphas with Cinderflame and Dawnwolf.

"Since we're going past TwilightPack, we might as well bring them home as well," she half said to Sunpaw and Bloodpaw. "They've been here for a good three sunrises so I think it's time they left anywhere." Moonfang felt her brother's eyes burning into her fur so she glanced to him. "What is it?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Bloodpaw mumbled. "Try asking them if they'd like to leave today." The brown tabby rubbed on Sunpaw's side. His eyes were glued to Moonfang's pelt and wouldn't stray.

Moonfang got up, padding over to the two Alphas. "Hey, you liking it in HowlPack?" she asked as she approached them.

Cloudfang glanced up, smiling brightly. "Yes! You've been very hospitable." He tried to scratch his ear but ended up trailing his claws into the skull which seamed to relieve his itching.

The black tabby nodded. "Well, I'm taking my brother and friends back home. We've got to pass by your territory, so why not have us take you home?"

Firefang nodded after a moment. "Sounds…great!" She wagged her tail excitedly, getting up. "When are you leaving?"

"Now, it seams." She turned back to Stormfang who was jumping all over Bluesun like an excited pup. "Stormfang, leave Bluesun alone if he doesn't want to come!"

Stormfang stopped; his paws slipped off either side of the wolf and he fell on top of him. "Sorry!" he yelped, but Bluesun was too quick and turned him over so he was on the Alpha's back. "Hey! I said I was sorry…!" Stormfang whimpered, struggling to get out from under him.

The blue wolf smiled at Moonfang. "Good morning, Alpha."

"Don't ignore me!" Stormfang managed to push up his haunches and zap Bluesun's fur.

Bluesun yelped in surprise and jumped off. "You cheater…" he muttered, flicking him with his tail.

Stormfang jumped up, glaring at him. "Cheater? You pinned me down!"

Bluesun shut him up by forcing his mouth shut with his own. He then pulled away and pressed his nose to the Alpha Male's. "Just shut up and be a good puppy."

If Stormfang hadn't had fur, everyone would have seen him blush. "Okay…" He licked Bluesun's nose making the other wolf sneeze.

Moonfang snorted. "You two are just a couple of love birds."

Sunpaw bounded over, pawing at Bluesun's side. "Are you going to come with us?" she asked, looking at his fur as if trying to find out if it were natural.

He nodded. "If my mate is, then I am." The blue male nodded to Moonfang. "Ready when you are."

Moonfang, Stormfang, Bluesun, Cloudfang, Firefang, and the ThunderClan cats started out of the camp at a slow pace, not wanting to leave the wolf pack yet. Bloodpaw was right up front with his sister, leaning on her side. Sunpaw was on his other side, their tails twined.

In the back were Willowpaw, Mintfrost, and Firefang.

"Why ain't you up there with that black wolf?" Mintfrost asked the gray and brown tabby.

Willowpaw rolled her shoulders. "We had…a bit of a falling out I guess." Her vision was downcast and head low.

The black and white tom pressed to her side. "You know, I'm thinkin' that wolf likes you."

"Yeah, we've been friends since we were little."

"No. I think she loves you." Mintfrost smiled at her. "I'm not against she-cats likin' other she-cats, or toms with other toms. And I'm able to tell when two animals be likin' each other." He winked, his depressed self now completely gone.

Willowpaw smiled at him. "Thanks, but I doubt she likes me that much. I've already got a tom back in camp that loves me."

He looked ahead. "So? When's that ever stopped someone from lovin' another?" Mintfrost stopped talking and rested his tail over Willowpaw's shoulder. "How do you feel about her?"

The rest of the conversation as too quiet for even Moonfang to hear. She mentally cursed to herself, but kept on walking. It wasn't long until they reached NewLeaf Cave and Moonfang stopped everyone.

"Firefang, Cloudfang, where is your territory exactly?"

The red tabby flicked her tail to the other side of the clearing. "Just a little ways that way."

Mintfrost nodded. "I live right in between TwilightPack and DawnPack, right at the edge of the forest beside the cat clans." His eyes glazed over. "Now I really will be the only one there…"

The black tabby looked to him with pity, almost able to feel what he did. "Come. Let's keep going."

They went over the clearing and into the bushes on the other side. Once they reached the border, Firefang and Cloudfang stopped them.

"This is it," Cloudfang observed. "Seams like Firecoat and Lillyshadow went through here a while ago." He looked back to Moonfang and Stormfang. "Thanks again for the hospitality. You're a great pack."

Firefang nodded. "Yes, very nice." She started past them, followed by Cloudfang, and back into their own territory.

Mintfrost had started walking, catching the wolves' attention. "Come on, wolves! I ain't got all day!" he meowed playfully, starting down the border.

Sunpaw and Willowpaw caught up to him in a couple of bounds. They'd gotten so much bigger over their travel over there…it was hard to believe these were the same cats that Moonfang had grown up with. They were nearly the same size as Mintfrost.

Bloodpaw got Moonfang's attention, tugging on her with his tail. "Come on, Sister. We should get going." The brown tabby started ahead with Bluesun.

Up ahead, a few wolves were waiting. One was a pale white male and the other was a ginger she-wolf. The white male waved them over with a friendly smile. "What brings you out here?" he asked, voice gruff.

Moonfang nodded. "I'm Moonfang, Alpha Female of HowlPack."

"I'm Alpha Male, Stormfang." The brown male smiled at him.

The ginger she-wolf nodded, blue eyes glittering in the dim sunlight. "Where abouts are you heading?"

Mintfrost pushed in from under Stormfang's legs. "To my home at the edge of your forest."

The two exchange a quick glance before looking back at Mintfrost. "Well, if you're one of the cats that live out there, then you might want to travel through our forest. I'm sure Firefang and Cloudfang won't mind." The white male looked back into the forest. His green eyes went back to Moonfang. "You seam a bit young for an Alpha."

"I am. I only just became Alpha Female." She licked her paw. "I'm originally from ThunderClan." Then she though twice and decided not to give anymore information. "So, what are your names? Are you from TwilightPack?"

They both nodded. "I'm Moonspirit and this is Sunstalker." He waved his tail to the ginger she-wolf.

Moonfang bowed to them. "It's nice to meet you. Do the wolf packs ever gather together for meetings?" It was a question she'd been dying to ask. Now seamed like a good time since she was meeting with other pack wolves.

Moonspirit shrugged. "Not since the explosion I heard."

Sunstalker nodded. "I heard that the Alpha's meet sometimes, but Darkfang is left out. He's the Alpha Male of DawnPack." She looked past Moonfang and out to the forest.

"Yes…we know him all too well." Stormfang growled at the forest, sparks dancing on his fur. "Anyway, are you sure it would be okay if we went through your forest?"

She nodded again. "Of course. We're neighbors. Just no stealing prey and we'll be fine."

Stormfang walked onto their side of the border, bounding around them before getting back on DawnPack's side. "They didn't move…" he commented, then jumped back on their side. "It's safe!"

Bluesun padded past him. "You're a goof."

"Are not! You may be Top Hunter, but watch your tongue!" Stormfang pounded after him, skirting off into the forest.

"And…they're gone…" Moonfang muttered. "Uh… Thanks for letting us in here." Moonfang bolted after them, keeping her speed minimum so the cats could keep up.

Once they got to a clearing outside the forest, they found Bluesun and Stormfang rolling around in the grass. Bluesun pinned him down once they got there.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile.

Stormfang struggled beneath him. "Meh! You're fat!"

Bluesun rolled him over, sitting on the Alpha's back. "Nah. You're just weak. For a Demon Vampire Wolf, you have little to no strength."

"MEH!" The Alpha Male's legs waved around like crazy but he couldn't go anywhere.

"Is this your home?" Sunpaw asked Mintfrost.

He nodded, ignoring the two mates and going over to a den made of stacked rocks. Crawling inside, he curled up in one of the two nests.

Willowpaw wondered over. "Are you going to be okay?"

Mintfrost didn't look up when he spoke. "Yes. I'll be just fine. You can leave now."

Moonfang nodded. "We can."

Everyone looked at her with surprise on their faces.

"What? We can, but we won't. Not just yet anyways." She laid down, folding her paw over her leg and resting her head on it. "I'm not leaving him like that."

Willowpaw gave a grateful smile at her. "Sounds like a plan. Why don't we go hunting?"

Bloodpaw got up slowly. "I'll go. Anyone else want to come?"

Seeing that Stormfang and Bluesun were busy, Moonfang offered to hunt for the three wolves.

Out in the quiet forest, she had time to clear her head. Willowpaw was a very caring cat…and she'd be great for HowlPack, especially with Moonfang leading it.

Scenting a deer, Moonfang crept over to it, stopping when TwilightPack's border came to her scenes again. _It's off that way…_ she thought with relief. Inching herself into her shadow, Moonfang ran forward toward where the deer was.

In the blue forest, Moonfang could see several other wolves walking around. She stopped, staring at them. All of them were walking around her without seeing her and just…walking. Some of them were hunting and others were talking peacefully; then, a sudden scream came from one of them and all of them began to scream.

The wolves all vanished, their fur being ripped apart and bones scattered and disintegrated. Terrified, Moonfang ran through the forest at top-speed, falling on something's shadow and tackling the deer she'd scented back in the real world.

She dug her overly sharp fangs into the deer's neck, killing it before it could let out a cry. It was a small deer, so it slung over her shoulder easily.

Still shaken up, she thought about it the entire way back. It had looked like the wolves had been blown apart…by what? Was it the explosion everyone kept talking about? The one that changed everyone and made the packs stronger? Maybe it was from afterwards and something had blown them apart with their powers.

Back at the clearing, Moonfang put the deer down and began sucking the blood from its neck. Stormfang and Bluesun joined, quickly draining the deer.

Bloodpaw had gotten back with a couple of rabbits and had put one outside Mintfrost's den. The other one was then shared with Willowpaw and Sunpaw.

Mintfrost had taken the rabbit, finally, and was eating it alone in his den. He looked a little happier when Willowpaw offered to talk with him.

By the time the sun was setting, Mintfrost was a lot better.

"Can we hear more about Ravenwing?" Sunpaw asked.

Willowpaw sat down beside her. "Talking about it will help," she meowed to the tom.

He nodded. "Okay. Ravenwin' was a great friend. He was like a brother to me. We met at a gatherin' when we first became apprentices, and we were just immediate friends." Mintfrost looked down. "Then there was a fight between WindClan and RiverClan…we saw each other in the midst of the fight…and couldn't brin' ourselves to hurt each other.

"After the battle, he agreed to meet at the next gatherin' and run away so we could be best friends and no one could tell us otherwise.

"The next gatherin' came, and we met outside the clearin'. We ran to the forest that edged where the clans live, and kept going. At the next forest, we decided it was far enough away and made it our home."

He stopped for a moment. "I don't even know how long we've been together. I know I'm an elder by now…but I still don't remember. Time flies when you're with a good friend."

Sunpaw nodded. "What was he like? Was Ravenwing really nice?"

"He had his moments where he was like a StarClan ancestor. Then there were others when he was just a complete idiot." He laughed lightly. "Ravenwin' cared a lot about my health since I use to get sick a lot, but he was just startin' to get better… he even let me stand out in the rain last moon."

Willowpaw put her tail over Mintfrost's shoulders. "Your brother was a very nice cat. He walks with StarClan now."

"That's what I'm worried about…! StarClan doesn't walk these skies, CloudPack does!" Mintfrost got up, tail lashing. "The clouds were blocking the sky when he died…I think he went to CloudPack…and I'll never see him again…"

Stormfang got up, nuzzling the tom's shoulder. "Cats belong in StarClan. Wolves belong in CloudPack. If he had ended up in CloudPack, then I'm sure someone led him back to StarClan." The brown wolf looked to Moonfang.

"Yeah. I've seen StarClan cats that go to CloudPack. I'm sure someone found him and brought him back home." She smiled at him when he looked up. "Your friend is fine."

He returned the smile. "Thank you, kindly."

**Moonfang: AH! Sorry I'm never on!**

**Stormfang: MEH! You mean! You no write in FOREVER! (poke)**

**Moonfang: don't poke me…**

**Stormfang: ….. (POKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKE!)**

**Moonfang: BWAHHH! (shoots lazer at him)**

**Stormfang: (flies away) AAaAAAAaaAAAaAHaAAAAHHHhhhhh….! (twinkle)**

**Moonfang: lol anyway, sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I'm getting really bad brain blocks and I'm roleplaying with my new friend a lot. **

**Stormfang: (from somewhere else) R&R!**


	16. Return to the Lake

Ch. 16

Return to the Lake

**(MYA~! I'm changing the characters in ThunderClan to the most recent book, except for a little something I threw in…. please don't hate me! O3O)**

Moonfang took the lead again. She knew where they were and the lake was getting very close. Usually, this journey would have taken a lot longer, but the cats were on the wolfs' backs now. Bloodpaw was on Moonfang along with Sunpaw, and Willowpaw was with Bluesun.

"Why can't I carry one?" Stormfang asked.

"Because Sunpaw is scared of you," Moonfang snorted.

He snorted back at her. "Then can't I carry the tabby?"

"Nope. He's mine."

"No fare!" He turned to the blue male. "Can I carry her?"

Bluesun thought for a moment. "Nah. I wanna carry her."

Once a long stretch of land came into view, Moonfang bolted forward, feeling Bloodpaw and Sunpaw dig their claws into her fur as she crossed the clearing and ended up in the next forest.

Bluesun and Stormfang weren't far behind. "You excited to see your home again?" Bluesun asked.

"I guess. I want to see my parents again." Moonfang shrugged to let her old clan mates know she'd stopped running.

Bloodpaw had already unhooked his claws and was looking ahead into the forest. "I remember this part." He jumped down and trotted forward until they reached the other edge of the trees. "This is where we camped out the first night."

Willowpaw jumped down as well. "Yeah. When we made StormClan," she joked. There were still scraps from where their nests had been and the grey and brown tabby was needing at them. "I can't wait to be home again. We've learned quite a bit from being out here."

Sunpaw was still clinging to Moonfang's pelt. "Maybe Firestar will make us warriors!" she meowed excitedly. "I shall be Sunstripe!" she yowled and joined the others on the ground. "What will your name be, Bloodpaw?"

He shrugged. "Bloodstrike?"

She purred. "That sounds so cool!"

Willowpaw nodded. "My name will be Willowlake."

The black tabby wolf looked down at them with sorrow in her eyes. She never got to be a warrior and fight for her clan. All she did was abandon them after she got her scar… "We best hurry if we want to get you home before tonight."

Stormfang nodded. "Tonight is a full moon and I'm sure the other clans will love to hear they have allies outside the forest." He looked out across the lake and sighed. "I remember when I was still a kittypet. I lived in the Twoleg house in ShadowClan territory.

"The day Blackstar asked me to join ShadowClan was an amazing day. Then Shimmerfang took me to HowlPack." He sat down, tail twitching.

Moonfang nudged him to his paws. "We have no time for stories, Old One," she joked and started pushing him toward WindClan territory. "You coming?" she asked the cats.

They nodded and bolted after her.

Bluesun took the back of the patrol.

Moonfang felt bold as she walked straight across WindClan territory. Sure, it was arrogant, but no one could beat her as long as she had her control of shadows. The black tabby stopped when something caught her attention. "There is a patrol coming," she growled.

Over the horizon came a large patrol of WindClan cats. Onestar's brown figure was out front with Crowfeather, Owlwhisker, Whiskerpaw, Leaftail, and Antpelt right behind. They quickly circled the wolves, spitting and hissing at them.

Crowfeather was the only one with a shocked look on his face as he recognized Stormfang. His blue eyes were wide and claws weren't digging into the ground like the others. He had fear on his face.

Moonfang crouched, showing off her strong muscles under her pelt.

"Are you three okay?" Onestar called to the ThunderClan apprentices.

Antpelt's fur was bristling more than the others. "Have they hurt you at all?"

Stormfang put his tail on Moonfang's shoulder, having her stand back up. Taking a deep breath, he puffed out his fur, lightning rippling over him and making the WindClan cats yowl and back off.

Sunpaw hid under Moonfang's legs, shaking. Willowpaw was near the center, farther away from Stormfang. Bloodpaw was sitting to the side, not affected by the surrounding cats or Stormfang.

While they were staring at him, Bluesun grabbed the apprentices and put them on Moonfang's back. "Go!" he barked.

Moonfang nodded, feeling all of them dig their claws into her back, and jumped over the surrounding cats. She bolted forward and reached the fiver in no time, jumping it with ease. Stopping a little clumsily, she let them off of her and waited for the other two.

Stormfang got there first with Bluesun right behind him. "I'm surprised you didn't hit those trees!" he barked at her, flicking her shoulder with his tail tip.

The black tabby smiled. "I'm use to running now."

Sunpaw had taken a step toward ThunderClan camp. Paws itching to be home, she rushed forward with Willowpaw and Bloodpaw hot on her tail. Moonfang trotted after them, keeping a good distance to show she wasn't chasing them but also so she wouldn't pass them.

Once they were close to the camp, a yowl came from no where and a ginger pelt slammed into Bluesun's side. The blue wolf was knocked off his paws and tumbled on the ground with the golden tabby warrior.

"L-Lionblaze!" Moonfang yelped, making the warrior stop suddenly. "Hey! Let go of my top Hunter!"

He looked up, pure shock on his face. "M-Moonpaw…?" he meowed, but all he saw was the black tabby wolf growling at him. "That…can't be!"

She flicked her tail at her brother. "Well, it is."

Bloodpaw peeked around from behind Moonfang along with Sunpaw and Willowpaw.

"You're all back!" He got up and bounded up to them. "I can't believe you're alive!"

Bloodpaw shrugged. "Oh, and it's Moon_fang_."

"Moonfang?" He looked up at the she-wolf then smiled. "I see you got your warrior name after all."

"Not really. I lead a pack of wolves with Stormfang here." She flicked her tail to the brown wolf who hid behind Bluesun. She laughed. "He's shy."

Lionblaze's vision glazed over and he looked down. "You were gone for only a few days…but something has happened."

They all froze. "What?" Willowpaw asked.

The golden tabby started past them. "Follow me, but you won't like what you hear."

At the camp, there was a lot of commotion about the wolves until they found out it was Moonpaw. The only one not happy to see her was Crowpaw, newly named Crowstone. His deep yellow eyes glowered at her, digging into her fur.

"What?" Sunpaw and Willowpaw both gasped. "He can't be!"

Lionblaze nodded. "He's gone…" Then he looked up, a small smile on his features. "I'm the new deputy if that makes you feel any better."

"But…" Moonfang was speechless. "How'd… he die?"

"WindClan was taken over by dogs. Firestar was already on his last life, so it didn't take all that much to kill him… but Bramblestar was with him the entire time."

Sunpaw nodded. "That's nice to know… Did he die peacefully?"

Sandstorm padded over. "Spottedleaf came to take him to StarClan. I think he died with no regrets."

Jayfeather came over, sniffing at Bloopaw's pelt for any signs of injury that was still there. "You've got some bad scratches. What happened?" his blind blue eyes looked to the tabby to search his mind.

Bloodpaw glared away, red eyes narrowed. "A HowlPack wolf did this." He got up and padded to Moonfang. "Bloodfur healed me up though. Nothing for you to worry about."

Willowpaw had sat down. "I can't believe Firestar is gone… He was such a great leader…" she bowed her head.

Jayfeather nodded. "It was a terrible thing, but it was his destiny since StarClan didn't send a sign."

Lionblaze nodded as well. "I'll go tell Bramblestar you've returned. He'll want to see you." The golden tabby bounded up the rocky slope to the leader's den and slipped inside.

Bramblestar soon came out, looking at Moonfang with wide eyes. "Moonpaw! Bloodpaw!" he yowled and ran down to them. As soon as he gained his composer, however, Squirrelflight came back from a hunting patrol and shrieked.

"_BLOODPAW! MOONPAW!"_ The ginger she-cat ran to them and rubbed against Bloodpaw first, then Moonfang.

"It's Moon_fang_," Moonfang corrected them.

Squirrelflight smiled up at her. "You got a new name?"

"Shimmerfang named me that since I'm Alpha Female of my own pack."

Stormfang poked his head over Moonfang's shoulder. "I'm Alpha Male, Stormfang. Nice to see the parents of the great new Alpha."

Bramblestar looked him over. "We can chat later; right now, I think we need to get ready for the gathering tonight." He gave Moonfang a sideways glance. "Are you leaving soon?"

She shrugged. "The Pups were getting their Short Fur names…but Firestorm said we don't need to be there… Stormfang?"

He shook his head. "We can stay for the night I guess."

"There isn't big prey here."

"I know." He sat down. "I'm not hungry anyway."

Bluesun shifted uncomfortably. "When does this gathering start?"

Bramblestar looked at the starry sky. "In a little while. Let me gather up my warriors, apprentices, and elders and we'll be on our way."

After Bramblestar had all of his warriors that he was going to bring, they set off. As a rule, they rounded the lake in the small section they were assigned, all except the HowlPack wolves. They trotted over WindClan's territory like they owned it; Moonfang in the lead.

At the small island, the wolves left it with a single lead and waited on the other side in case anyone fell into the water.

Sadly, Willowpaw, Sunpaw, and Bloodpaw were back at camp. They were tired from all of the events that had happened and Bramblestar ordered them to take a long rest. Besides, he had a surprise for them when they got back.

Bramblestar took his place in the tree, Blackstar in his, Mistystar and Onestar on theirs. They all waited for Bramblestar since ShadowClan and RiverClan were wondering where Firestar was.

"I have horrible news… In an effort to help WindClan a few sunrises ago…Firestar has died. He died valiantly though! His last life was used to save a WindClan apprentice…Boulderpaw."

Said apprentice stood and bowed. There was sorrow in the way he did it, but no one blamed him directly.

"As a result, we have a new deputy. Lionblaze."

The other clans cheered out Lionblaze's name loudly and then were quiet for a few heartbeats in respect to Firestar.

Bramblestar signaled to Moonfang and the other two wolves. "We were also returned some valued members of our clan. Bloodpaw, Willowpaw, Sunpaw, and Moonfang have come back from their journey beyond the forest." He nodded to Moonfang.

The other clans hadn't noticed the wolves since their scent was mingled with ThunderClan already. They almost panicked if not for Moonfang to speak up.

"Thank you, Father. I'd like the other clans to know that HowlPack is ready to help anyone in need. All you have to do is yowl. We'll be listening from now on." She felt bad that they hadn't been able to safe Firestar and was going to make it so her pack kept an ear out for the clans from now on.

The other clans were a little suspicious, but accepted it.

"I bet they'll only take ThunderClan's side…" a ShadowClan apprentice sneered.

"They're not going to help if we try and attack RiverClan," another ShadowClan warrior murmured.

"They were walking over our territory like it was their own…!" Nightcloud hissed.

Blackstar waved his tail. "Thank you for your kindness, wolf."

"Moonfang." She dipped her head to him.

Blackstar was next. "I only have one thing to say. Ferrettail has become a warrior."

The cream-and-gray tom stood, fur fluffed out.

Everyone cheered for him. "Ferrettail! Ferrettail!"

Mistystar got up. "RiverClan has been thriving. The fish are returning and we're starting to learn to hunt the squirrels that run from ShadowClan's territory." She looked to Blackstar. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. It's tough in winter for you since you only hunted fish." Then he glared. "Just don't cross the border."

She nodded. "We'll try our best." Then she sat down.

Onestar stood. "WindClan is still healing from the dog attack. We saw those wolves on our territory and they got us a little on edge." He nodded to them. "Sorry if we offended you in any way."

Stormfang shrugged. He was about to say something smart, but Moonfang stepped on his paw. "It was no trouble…!" he squeaked.

He continued. "Breezepelt has a bad gash on his hind leg, so he wasn't able to come to the gathering."

Moonfang caught Lionblaze snort quietly.

"But other than that, we are doing great."

The gathering was over and the clans were starting to disburse. Moonfang, Stormfang, and Bluesun leaped to the field and waited for ThunderClan to come back over.

Moonfang was a little troubled with how no one had heard the battle cries of cats fighting dogs. Was their hearing acute enough to hear them? She'd have to ask CloudPack. _Wait…do they walk these skies?_ She looked up and saw a surprisingly white cloud. "Shimmerfang…" she muttered. _So they do. _

Stormfang was smiling beside her. "That's Shimmerfang's cloud." He took a deep breath. "I can almost smell her sweet, rose scent."

Moonfang nodded. "She did smell sweet…" Then she looked up when Bramblestar jumped off the log. "We'll sleep outside the camp, Father," she barked.

"Nonsense. You can sleep in the clearing."

"With that huge tree in the way? There won't be enough room for all three of us." She started toward the camp when the rest of ThunderClan came from the island.

The cats near the back were chatting about if there would be a fight between RiverClan and ShadowClan while the others in the front were very quiet.

"You have other responsibilities now," Bramblestar said to break the silence.

Moonfang nodded. "Yes. I won't be able to come back home too often."

The dark tabby shrugged. "No worries. Come whenever you like. The clan will miss you." He didn't look back when he added, "Especially Willowpaw."

She flinched. Moonfang didn't really want to talk about the beautiful gray and brown tabby. She still hadn't confessed how she truly felt about her, but Moonfang didn't think she could now since Willowpaw didn't want to live in HowlPack with her. "Yeah… Bloodpaw will too."

Lionblaze padded on Moonfang's other side. "I doubt that. He's got Sunpaw to keep him company."

Thinking for a moment, Moonfang nodded. "They have gotten very close. You think they'll be mates?"

"Who knows?"

The camp was still buzzing with excitement. Cherrypaw and Molepaw were asking Bloodpaw how the journey had been. He continued refusing, so they had moved on to Sunpaw and Willowpaw.

"I've never seen a lizard that big before!" Sunpaw was meowing dramatically. "He was…bigger than the trees!"

Cherrypaw's eyes widened a little. "Wow… And you three fought him off?"

Icecloud snorted. "Yeah right. And where'd Sharppaw go?"

Bloodpaw snarled. "Sharp_eyes_ is part of DawnPack. He's a demon cat."

Now Foxleap was listening. "He didn't seam all that bad. How do you know for certain?"

"We watched him transform right in front of us," Willowpaw mewed. "And a yellow and white fox spoke to him like he was her mate."

Briarlight pulled herself out of the medicine den. "That little snake was evil? I could have told you _that_."

Bramblestar sniggered. "I doubt that, Briarlight. He was convincing to us all."

"W-Welcome back, Bramblestar!" the dark brown she-cat called out, grinning.

After the rest of the clan greeted the gathering patrol, Bramblestar climbed the rocks to the Highledge. His head held high, he called out, "All of those old enough to hunt their own prey gather here below the Highledge for a clan meeting!"

Moonfang and her packmates were in the far back to make room for the ThunderClan cats.

"I know this wasn't announced earlier, but I thought it would be a good idea, seeing what they went through. Bloodpaw, Willowpaw, and Sunpaw; step forward please." He jumped down from the Highledge and signaled them forward.

The three stepped forward, now knowing what was going on.

"I know you didn't get the proper trial from your mentors, but I think you've shown your strength if you left for so long and were able to take good care of each other." He glanced up at something, then back to the three apprentices. "By the power that StarClan has given me, I give you your warrior names." As he continued, he touched each of their foreheads with his nose as he said their names. "Bloodlust, Sunheart, and Willowfur."

The clan called out their names and the HowlPack wolves lifted their heads and howled out. "Bloodlust! Sunheart! Willowfur!"

As they were cheering, Stormfang's ears perked up. They turned around for a bit before freezing. "Alpha," he barked, turning to Moonfang, "It seams that Darkfang has sent one of his Hunters into our territory."

She sighed. "Father!" she called to him. "We've got to go."

He cocked his head, padding over to them. "So soon?"

"Something has come up. DawnPack is threatening our territory again. They need us there to drive them out." She turned and started away, but Sunheart jumped on her back. "S-Sunheart…!"

Her amber eyes were wide. "Why can't you stay? Stormfang can handle it."

She sighed. "It's kind of an Alpha thing. We need both of us to drive out an intruder." Moonfang lay down so Sunheart could climb off. "Besides, I've wanted to sink my teeth into a DawnPack demon's pelt for a while now." She licked her lips as Willowfur and Bloodlust came over. "Sorry for having to leave early."

Willowfur smiled. "No worry. You have a pack to take care of." Then she turned and went over to Crowstone who rubbed his head against her cheek then glared at Moonfang with his eyes saying _don't you have somewhere to be going? _

Moonfang huffed. "We'll come visit again," she barked, then turned and ran off. Her dark figure wasn't visible to anyone as she ran to the forest. The entire run was occupied by her thoughts. _Crowstone is such a jerk! Why is Willowfur acting like she still likes him? Ugh! I'll just change Willowfur into a wolf and then she can live with me! _

She stopped outside TwilightPack's forest. Her angry thoughts were subsiding. _No… I doubt she'd appreciate being forced to live as a wolf. _Sighing in defeat, Moonfang jumped forward into the bushes, Stormfang and Bluesun right at her heels.

**Moonfang: Now only the epilogue is left! Yay!**

**Stormfang: It's over already?**

**Moonfang: There will be a sequel ^^ no worries!**


	17. Epilogue

Epilogue

Days had passed since Moonfang had left back to HowlPack. Bloodlust liked not having her around actually. He was getting a lot of attention from the warriors and apprentices, but mostly from Sunheart. Truthfully, he didn't care about that either. All Bloodlust wanted to do was hunt and fight.

His claws itched to slash at something, so he chose a random tree over by WindClan to claw at profusely. The tree was almost ready to fall over now from all of his lashing out at it.

Usually, Bloodlust would have a reason for doing that. Anger, depression, training…none. He just wanted to. There was an urge to attack anything that got near him so it was impossible for him to be around his clanmates.

Willowfur and Crowstone were close again, but it was obvious that the gray and brown tabby wanted nothing to do with him. Sunheart and Spiderleg had started little training sessions for Cherrypaw. The clan was running pretty smoothly.

Bloodlust was the only one off. He couldn't get Darkfang's deal with him out of his head.

_I'll help you not to transform into a wolf if you do something for me… _He shivered. _Within a moon, I'll find you and ask you to join my pack. If you refuse, I'll take off the seal that's protecting you and you'll turn into a Demon Vampire Wolf. Take up my offer…and you'll have power beyond your wildest dreams…_

Bloodlust's paws shuffled and claws flexed. He anted badly to join. It was the one thing he felt. Need. A desire to do what Darkfang had told him. He didn't care what happened to ThunderClan or even HowlPack.

If he attacked his sister.

So what?

If Darkfang killed Sunheart?

Who cares?

All of his emotions were gone. Love. Hate. Happiness. Sadness. All of it was gone. Bloodlust had no more desire to be with Sunheart. He felt nothing toward her. All he had was the need to serve Darkfang.

Eyes glinting and a smile coming to his lips, Bloodlust stomped his paw down on a mouse that had scurried in front of him. "More power than my wildest dreams, eh?" He crushed the mouse, smiling wider when its guts spilled over his paw and blood pooled in the grass. "It'll have to be a lot to please me…"


End file.
